The Borough of Mom and Pop Shops
Don’t let the big-boxification of Red Hook, the Starbucks-like growth of Dunkin’ Donuts or the slew of chain shops in our neighborhoods fool you: Mom and Pop stores still reign supreme in Brooklyn, reports the Daily News. They find a pharmacy in Dyker Heights, a Bed-Stuy bookshop and a Cobble Hill hardware store surviving both…
Don’t let the big-boxification of Red Hook, the Starbucks-like growth of Dunkin’ Donuts or the slew of chain shops in our neighborhoods fool you: Mom and Pop stores still reign supreme in Brooklyn, reports the Daily News. They find a pharmacy in Dyker Heights, a Bed-Stuy bookshop and a Cobble Hill hardware store surviving both the mallification of Brooklyn and the rocky economy. These are places where the owners know their patrons’ names and real customer service exists (you know, there’s an actual informed human to assist you). One thing we’ve seen is that a major chain can rapidly force nearby commercial rents to increase, as recently happened with the Flatbush Target. Will these Mom and Pops survive as more big guys make their way to Brooklyn?
Brooklyn Loves Its Mom and Pop Shops [NY Daily News]
Photo by bitchcakesny.
Intresting. FYI for those of you further interested in Mom&Pops:
MAS to Host Panel on Preserving Neighborhood Businesses
Monday, October 6, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
@ West Side Institutional Synagogue,
120 West 76th Street at Columbus Ave
FREE, reservations recommended. RSVP online.
http://mas.org/mas-to-host-panel-on-preserving-neighborhood-businesse/
i live in a non-pintchik owned building on flatbush and the owner of my building just sold half of it to…
…pintchik.
but now that AY may not happen who knows; if it is the rents are going to be insane.
thanks. i knew that but i was wondering what jack meant by “warehousing” and not being good neighbors. the block south of AY does seem to be quite depressed due to the empty and/or less-than-busy storefronts and i’m wondering if someone can illuminate for me the reasons.
Pintchik owns the majority of the buildings on flatbush ave north of GAP.
oops
How does white immigration factor into this? I hear 4 of 10 new yorkers are not born here and at least 2 of 10 of the remainder are the children of immigrants. The immigration figures look quite high for poles, brits, russians.
what do you mean by warehousing? holding them back demanding a ridiculous rent? sorry, i’m not very knowledgeable about commercial RE.
i disagree, yes those storefronts with yellow/red “for rent” signs are Pintchik. And as a Brooklyn born and bred NYer let me say this: Pintchik is not that great and is overpriced and their staff is not that helpful.
There are local hardware stores on Smith Street and on Montague Street that have helped me when I needed something. Heck, I found an old school electronics shop on Canal Street that’s been helpful to me and they have been around for decades. Pintchik? They are about as useful as Tarzian Hardware on 7th Avenue in Park Slope: Neither are useful and both are “neighborhood traditions” that just stink.
And in the case of Pintchik, the warehousing they do with their storefronts really kill that part of Flatbush. They are not good neighbors.
Santa – What’s Pintchik up to? I’m assuming you mean Pintchik, in his role as real estate overlord, as opposed to Pintchik in the role of hardware store. I’ve been curious about all of those For Rents on storefronts near the AY footprint. Are those his?