Invasion of the Chain Stores?
The New York Times on Sunday proclaimed that, having already conquered Manhattan, chain stores were preparing to take over the boroughs and lay waste to the charming neighborhood feel of mom-and-pop stores in the process. The boroughs are all going down like bowling pins, says urban planner Jeanne Giordano. From where we sit, it’s a…
The New York Times on Sunday proclaimed that, having already conquered Manhattan, chain stores were preparing to take over the boroughs and lay waste to the charming neighborhood feel of mom-and-pop stores in the process. The boroughs are all going down like bowling pins, says urban planner Jeanne Giordano. From where we sit, it’s a little simplistic to generalize like that. Like architecture, the answer has a lot to do with context. While we’d hate to see places like Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Smith Street in Cobble Hill or Fifth Avenue in Park Slope get Soho-ized, at this point we think a Starbucks or a Gap would have a positive impact on the stretch of Fulton in Clinton Hill. Of course, we’d prefer a local boutique or gourmet store, but they’ve been a long time coming.
Big-Name Retail Chains Will Take the Other Boroughs [NY Times]
AREA Kids is taking over brooklyn! But at least they are owned by one person and sell cool stuff that you need or want if you have kids and birthday parties to go to.
Across the Park blog recently had a post about rumors that Costco was looking at a spot on Empire Blvd in PLG. I haven’t checked back to see the update though.
Lucky Brand Jeans are aaapranetly opening a store on Smith Street in the Vegas bar
Anon 3:02,
I live near Prince and Sullivan Streets, so I’m not affected by shoppers much. But like I said earlier, weekends are really the only time the streets get crowded in Soho. Shoppers don’t bother anybody anyway. What are you talking about?
Bums, vagrants, and low lifes are bothersome, not shoppers.
I like this website because I enjoy construction projects like renovating old brownstones. I’m gonna bunker down in this apartment, save money like Silas Marner, eat steak and oysters at Raoul’s, and wait for the crash.
Anecdotal information, but I’ve heard the reason Fulton in Clinton Hill is lagging so far behind the residential streets around it is commercial landlords refusing to offer long-term leases to businesses, so they can jack the prices way up when (if?) Atlantic Yards gets built. Anyone know anything about this?
The secret to good coffee is to grind the beans and then make the brew. The taste tells all. Hot steamed milk – the taste is unrivaled to cold milk. We (and people I know) like Starbuck’s because of the coffee taste (we rarley get anything other than a REGULAR coffee. The edibles are usually all spectacular. The color schemes are soothing. They don’t typically play weird fringe music.
poor old larry
we lived on grand street for some years and it was fine, but elbowing tourists got tiresome. the shopping just isn’t cool there, baby and you know it.
I buy most stuff out here. as for basics, order them online!
In Clinton Hill, Outpost Cafe, Brown Betty and Choice all make great coffee (can be as pricey as a Starbucks but at least they are local businesses). Sister’s Community Hardware is a good, friendly, helpful small hardware store. Just wanted to give credit to the small businesses that are doing a good job in the area and are friendly and helpful.
Concerned – again I think you have it wrong, no one is ‘bringing chain stores to Brooklyn’; rather Chain stores are looking for opportunities and see that most parts of Brooklyn (and other Boros) are extremely underserved in terms of retail (by all standard metrics) and also observe that when similar national retailers open in the outer Boros they are generally successful.
It is nice to theoretically oppose the homoginazation of the retail landscape but the reality is that as long as people frequent national chains they will come – and while you may differ, I do not want to live in a society where the elite mandate where I can shop, especially when it is diametrically oppossed to the average persons demonstrated desires.
Again the best way to fight national chains is for the local merchants to become more competitive (and there are many examples of successful local merchants). One of the benefits of NYC for local merchants is a massive concetration of people, (allowing more specialization); non-traditional (i.e. few ‘strip-center) real estate locations, and less reliance on auto traffic.
Think about it, if most deli’s were run like Lassen and Hennings (on Montague St) – do you think Subway or Blimpies would be able to open nearby (both failed on Montague btw); If most Hardware Stores were as attractive and helpful as Tanzian (on 7th Ave) do you think (non-commercial) people would flock to Home Depot or Lowes for general hardware needs? If most coffee shops knew how to pull a proper shot of Espresso like Cafe Regular (on 11th and 5th) do you think there would be much room for Starbucks.
Instead however most neighborhoods ‘delis’ are actually dirty Bodegas with old meat and stale bread; and Hardware stores like Bruno’s on Court (with unfriendly staff and clutter and dirt everywhere) and local coffee shops like Ozzies (on 5ht) (with horrible coffee, ripoff internet and gross food).