Nostrand Ave: Many Hair Salons, No Cafés

Hipster, his name is David, and he has his fingers in a lot of pots in business ventures all over, and is vastly overextended. I think he sold the pizza parlor across the street, as well.

Over the past few years, Community Board #8 (the location of this commercial strip)has collaborated with local merchants on various commercial strips to address issues which may have impeded economic development. Thus far, the successes can be seen on Vanderbilt Avenue, Washington Avenue and Franklin Avenue. Indeed, the Police and Economic Development committees have been engaged in the work to bring changes to Nostrand Avenue.

There are three challenges with respect to Nostrand Avenue are safety, real estate and matching the retail offerings with the needs of the community. A big concern has been safety. Nostrand Avenue has several challenges, many linked to the drug sale activity that overtook the corridor in the rock cocaine era of the 1980’s and 1990’s. A manifestation of this has been the recent presence of “Operation Impact” initiative.

A second, and not evident concern or issue or the landlords along Nostrand Avenue. Much of the commercial space is owned by one entity/family. One common tactic used towards the improvement of a commercial strip is the establishment of a merchants association. On Nostrand Avenue both the shop owners and the landlords are relcuctant to contribute towards a merchant association. With Vanderbilt Avenue, Washington Avenue and Franklin Avenue the formation of the merchants association pressaged the successful establishment of varied businesses offering services that residents earlier had to “leave the neighborhood” to obtain.

The third challenge is complex. What is the “right” mix of businesses along a particular corridor. For example, at one point Connecticut Muffin was looking for a location along Nostrand Avenue. The catch was their space requirement would have required that more than one long time established business would be displaced. In the end, the landlord decided that he would not displace a long term tenant.

The third challenge is the crux of the differences between the newcomers and long term residents. As the child of a Carribean immigrant who proudly lived in only one zip code for his years in the United States. As he acquired greater financial resources he moved from a one bedroom apartment to a family sized apartment to one of those highly sought after brownstones.

Let me share what his perspective on this. Yes, it is not convenient that ALL the things that I may want to buy are not located in walking distance of his home. He would have asked, “And whose home is?” For those people who bemoan the absence of a coffee shop on Nostrand Avenue he would say, “What’s wrong with these people?” “Why can’t the sit in their homes and enjoy a cup of coffee and maybe share the time with friends or family?” Do they live someplace without a kitchen or furniture?

From his perspective, the most important part of living in a community is your interaction with your neighbors, your religious community, your children’s schools and recreation centers. That’s what building a community is about.

From my perspective, if there are too many hair places for the demand, then these businesses will go out of business for the lack of customers and then perhaps, the newcomers will have their coffee shop. Lastly, I agree with the What. There are plenty of places to eat along Nostrand Avenue that are not takeout. It just may not be your kind of food.

rob- I meant the way, say, real housewives are.

Nabor- I looked at the excel sheet- it’s very confusing, unless I’m misreading it. The breakdown is weird- and why the indents? The categories are all over the place and seems to be a lot of overlap. Can you clarify?

Wont UB My Nabor- I think the “fine shopping” your neighbor remembers was certainly more prevalent all over Brooklyn. Downtown Fulton Street was another such street. But things change, the resident populations changed also. I can’t think of any hat shops except for a few in Manhattan- the Milliners Guild I believe has less than 100 members these days- I find that very sad. But people don’t wear hats and gloves the way they used to. Retailers go where the business is-without enough demand, they go under. So it really is a true statement about meeting the needs of residents- It just doesn’t tell the whole story.

That’s not to say I think Nostrand can’t stand improvement- it can, because I think the people who have long made up this neighborhood deserve better services and amenities. It shouldn’t happen just because gentrifyiers are moving in.