Fulton Mall: Death By Compromise?
The Pratt Center for Community Development has released its full report–analysis and recommendations–on the Fulton Mall. Here are the five “strategies” the report recommends following. Clearly, they are trying to walk a very fine line balancing all the class and racial sensitivities that are all rolled up in the issue now. 1. Address the physical…
The Pratt Center for Community Development has released its full report–analysis and recommendations–on the Fulton Mall. Here are the five “strategies” the report recommends following. Clearly, they are trying to walk a very fine line balancing all the class and racial sensitivities that are all rolled up in the issue now.
1. Address the physical appearance of the Mall with innovative and culturally sensitive facade improvement (huh? sounds like politically-correct jibberish to us), building conservation and new building design techniques that embrace the aesthetic theme of “old meets new.” (We have no idea what this means but it sounds like a recipe for confusion and mediocrity.)
2. Better utilize buildings by activating vacant upper stories and carefully planning a mix of uses that supports the dynamism and diversity of the Mall and makes it more of a 24-hour place. (No quibbles with this one.)
3. Promote and enhance the current retail themes found on the Mall: urban wear, Hip Hop fashion and music, uniquely Brooklyn. (What, no Banana Republic? What about that diversity?)
4. Improve the public realm and enliven the side streets to enhance the experience of shoppers and visitors on Fulton Street, as well as workers and residents to the north and south. (Ah, so this is where they throw the gentrifiers a bone. The only problem is it sounds like they’ll have to wade through the penis-engraved tooth caps to get to their precious cafes. Not gonna work in our opinion.)
5. Engage a broad and diverse group of stakeholders in the planning process from this point forward. (We’re all just one big happy multi-cultural family!)Fulton Mall 2006 Report [Pratt Center]
Photo by f. trainer
Well said CHP! You go girl! (female, right?- if not, er…sorry. You go guy!) (:>
I wonder how much time some of the people who support a hi-end shopping mall on Fulton have actually spent there? I’ve spent a lot of time there and it is not the urban nightmare some people want to label it. If it wasn’t successful, in terms of retail, I could see taking agressive action- but some posters here are far beyond the realm of reality. For years Fulton Mall simply catered to the people who shopped there. And why not? The mix of stores reflected that- and attempts at changing or making it upscale never worked because it was always half-assed. Especially the “renovation.” But as David said, it isn’t the government’s responsibility. And his idea on how to improve Fulton Mall makes the most sense. That said, Brooklyn doesn’t owe it to anyone to provide a Tiffanys or a Saks or a hi-end shopping experience- I don’t care how much you spend on your house.
Like CHP I also think a better mix would be great, and it will definitely happen. I myself don’t believe hi- and lo-end are diametrically opposed. What I have seen is that hi-end elitist shoppers seem to think the “common man” is out to get them and it’s only a matter of time. I never had anything bad happen in all the years I shopped in Fulton Mall. And I was one of maybe 3 or 4 white faces down there for a long time. I used to go to the old movie theater all the time too (when you had to keep your feet up on the chair in front of you because the rats ran under the seats). Some posters here make it sound like the wild west- it wasn’t.
By all means fix up the mall area- and open up the upper levels for business or residential- but why destroy businesses that are successful? That makes no economic sense. Nor does it make sense to complain about businesses that simply met the market demand. If residents of Brooklyn Heights had bothered to bring their business to Fulton Mall, there would be a better mix today. Instead they went to COurt and to Montague. As little as 5 years ago Court St. was still a less than stellar business strip. Now look at it- I watched it evolve from the 80’s when walking down Court St. after dark was a scary proposition. But as the neighborhoods around the Heights became more upscale, Court St. upscaled to meet the market.
By all means, fix up, renovate, and open up new spaces in Fulton Mall- then let the market do the rest. If the elitists want Tiffany’s let them prove they’ll support one before we go kicking out businesses that sell penis engraved gold tooth covers.
Anon 7:02, your remarks are so insulting on so many levels, I won’t even bother to go head to head with you, it’s like talking to bricks. You know nothing about my expectations, let alone the population that shops on Fulton Street. It isn’t just for the people in the projects. You obviously haven’t been reading what I, and others have been saying about change to the mall. If people think Bklyn is a sh*thole from seeing the mall, then they are missing out on what makes Brooklyn tick, and they need to get back on their tour bus. I’ve been in the mall and have seen packs of tourists having a good time. They know, unlike yourself, that the New York experience is more than an bland upscale Disneyland.
Actually CHP, what is out of place is Fulton Mall and the state of downtown. With the exception of the projects, Fulton Mall does not cater to the community and make Brooklyn look like a sh*thole to anyone who comes to downtown Brooklyn but doesn’t know about the surrounding beautiful neighborhoods. it will change, I just hope all the new residential towers etc. speed up those changes (as long as landmark quality buildings are preserved in the process).
If you think we should settle for the dump that Fulton mall now is, that’s your perogative. Low expectations can be your choice if you wish I suppose.
Aw, come one anon 6:10, the point wasn’t meant to be literal. And you prove my point – even the rich have to travel to shop, albeit not very far.
BrownBomber, that’s some shopping list. After paying higher and higher real estate and renovation prices, who has that much left for high end shopping? 🙂
If a street like Montague St, in the heart of the most posh area of Bklyn, can’t support more high end businesses, how can you expect The Mall at Fulton Junction, (my name) to do the same? If a Pottery Barn, Wm Sonoma, or some of the other places you mentioned were here, I see them trying Montague or Court Street in Carroll Garden first, and I’d be there for them. ABC Carpet, one of the coolest (and overpriced) stores around tried a DUMBO annex, surely in an upscale area, and it closed. Maybe location and inaccessibility helped kill them, but shouldn’t the money in the area have kept them alive? My point being that being around an upscale population doesn’t mean a business can succeed.
Somehow a super duper high end mall sitting where Fulton Mall is now, surrounded by the rest of downtown and the surrounding area reminds me of being at a resort in Haiti – vacationing in spendour surrounded by abject poverty. I’d never go there, and I certainly wouldn’t want to see it here.
ltjbukem – lmao. Who cares. Also, i don’t think this is the Pratt group, whatever that is supposed to be. Your description of the those clothes just sounds like different types of teenager apparel worn by teenagers and adults who act like teenagers.
god i havent been to that place since the 80’s man brings me back nightmares.
That’s right CHP, no wealthy people live on 5th Ave or Madison Ave and shop in Bergdorf or Cartier. ? 😉
Would I like a better mix at the Mall, yes, of course. I go down there to shop at Conways for cheap one season summer clothes and towels. I used to love Parade of Shoes, now gone, for cheap summer shoes, and I still shop at Lane Bryant because I’m not a stick insect. I used to buy a lot of fabrics on Bridge St. but most of the shops are gone now, and were replaced by sucky dollar stores. But I know where to get my fabrics in Manhattan, I can get cheap shoes everywhere. I rarely go to Macy’s because it really is a disgrace, but I don’t shop in Macy’s in the city that much either. Point being that I, like most of us, know where to get what I need. Some of it may be local, some of it involves some travel.
I don’t think it matters that people don’t live near the mall anymore, to answer the common man remark. Most people of any income group, except perhaps the super rich off Madison Ave, don’t really live too close to where they shop. Look at most shopping areas in this city. Most SoHo shoppers don’t even live in NYC, people come to 34th St from all over, same with people shopping at Century 21, or even Target. The fact is that Fulton Mall, for good or ill, has morphed into what it is, for the shopping pleasure now consisting mostly of people who take all forms of public transportation to get there, or work in all of the civil servant jobs in the area. I don’t think it should me made to stay that way for all time,it should go with market forces, but I don’t think it should be made to change to cater to the more affluent who happen to be in walking distance.
If one wanted a more upscale shopping area, the strip along Court Street on the other side of Atlantic Ave seems perfect – you have attractive storefronts, restaurants, etc. But then we always hear of people complaining that those stores are not patronized either. What are you going to do? People have to support small business, especially retail business, or they can’t survive, no matter where they are.