Fulton Attracting 'Manhattan-Type' Customers?
The Observer has a Q&A with Al Laboz—chairman of the Fulton Street Mall Association and one of the strip’s big property owners—in which Laboz talks about new businesses like H&M coming to the corridor. He has this to say about the demographics stores are looking to cater to: “Now that downtown Brooklyn is experiencing a…
The Observer has a Q&A with Al Laboz—chairman of the Fulton Street Mall Association and one of the strip’s big property owners—in which Laboz talks about new businesses like H&M coming to the corridor. He has this to say about the demographics stores are looking to cater to: “Now that downtown Brooklyn is experiencing a renaissance, with 5,000 new apartments being developed in a four-block radius, we’re getting a new type of highly educated … I’ll call them the Manhattan type of customer. And the challenge that we have on Fulton Street right now is really to keep our core local customer while also embracing the new customer that’s starting to come into Fulton Street.” Laboz also says “major, large-scale retailers” are eying 505 Fulton. Meanwhile, a reader sent in the photo above yesterday, which shows that work’s kicked off at the future home of the Shake Shack on the Fulton Mall—not a Laboz property, but certainly an example of one of the commercial corridor’s newcomers.
Albert Laboz Has a Mall in Brooklyn He’d Like to Sell You [NYO]
I think Mr. Leboz compared his info after reading the Brownstoner comments for a couple of months. So in effect, he is correct in saying Manhattan-ites are more educated. because, frankly, after reading all the comments on this blog, you guys and gals do make Brooklyn-ites look stupid.
Sorry, fsrg- we won’t agree. He played it exactly how rob said- condescending and barfy. Had he played it green- no problem.
it might not be racist, but it’s condescending, barfy, and i dont care if you wanna deny it or not, still screams moonface oppression.
*rob*
“money is the universal color- green :)”
I agree – which is why no one should be offended by this guys comments, cause that is what color he is playing too – it isnt racist, its business
“Because until very recently national chains and even more upscale local merchants wouldnt consider Brooklyn at all (Danny Meyer wasnt opening in Brooklyn in ’96) much less the Fulton Mall.”
This isn’t true. National chains have been interested in the Mall since at least 1992. A few like Footlocker and The Children’s Place have made their way in the mall. But most landlords didn’t want to do the kind of work to their properties necessary to get a those kinds of tenants. Therefore, those chains, have for the most part been shut out of the mall.
fsrg- I wouldn’t be one of them. I know too many affluent nonwhites – money is the universal color- green 🙂
@ LC. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, well put. The Duffield, ewwwww (but worth cutting school to attend a good movie opening). The best part of a shopping day was the custard in A&S’s basement near the escalator, yum.
Come on Bxgrl – it is pure semantics – if he said we have this new “affluent” shopper now – many of the same people would be posting that “affluent” was code for white.
Poor old Laboz – he’s just sticking to the facts – manhattaners is more educateded:
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-12-15/local/27084374_1_education-numbers-college-grads-college-degrees