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]
and the most horrid of rumors that I heard from a very reliable source yesterday – WAL-MART is coming to Fulton Street in Brooklyn, supposably to replace the Fulton mall where Forever 21 and ToysRus are currently. Anyone have any knowledge of this??!?! UGH UGH UGH!!!!
can somebody explain to me the elusive allure of starbucks? i don’t necessarily have a problem with them, but why starbucks over, say, a well-run locally-owned coffee shop?
StarBucks is coming to Restoration Plaza on Fulton but you have plenty of good coffee places in Bed Stuy. BreadStuy on Lewis, Bush Baby on Fulton. Wouldn’t you rather spend your dollars supporting a local business?
clinton hill bed-stuy borders needs a starbcks. starbucks ceo is from the pjs in brooklyn–maybe, in not sure i remember correctly, east ny. don’t black people and the people who live w/near them deserve a starbucks?
On 7’th Avenue in PS -the fabric store is closing, Snooky’s is undergoing some renovation, Sound Track bit the dust a while ago.
There are already plenty of Payless shoe stores and KFCs in Brooklyn. Maybe not in your immediate nabe, but they’re still here, on Kings Hwy and out in Bay Ridge…
We’re talking higher end chain stores, where people drop bigger wads of cash. The reason they want to move out here is because Brooklyn’s demographics are changing – more and more upper middle class singles and families are putting down roots.
I would be happy not to have to shlep to Manhattan to buy my “basics.” Ditmas Park is hot – reasonably priced houses are snapped up almost immediatley – and Cortelyou Road is ripe for picking. How about a New York Sports Club and a Citibank?
we need a union market!!!!! and a fish store!!!and cheese!
i def don’t want a gap or a starbucks – i’ll just keep supporting locals like outpost and black betty!
Just as I am about to move out of Boerum Hill a Starbucks is arriving at Smith & Wyckoff! The “mother ship” (bathrooms every 2 blocks in Manhattan is terrific during pregnancy)arrives & I depart for Ditmas & will have to settle for Duncan at Newkirk. Where’s the justice? Bummer.