Commercial Klutch: October Edition
You’d think the Trader Joe’s opening was the Coming of the Lord the way the crowds keep coming. The 100th guy in line the first day told me he got a free shopping bag. Wow…99 cents inside. We do love what they do, and wish them well. Gotta be the loveliest grocery store in Kings…
You’d think the Trader Joe’s opening was the Coming of the Lord the way the crowds keep coming. The 100th guy in line the first day told me he got a free shopping bag. Wow…99 cents inside. We do love what they do, and wish them well. Gotta be the loveliest grocery store in Kings County. Meanwhile, down the street in a different location Urban Outfitters is struggling. Why isn’t anyone buying?
Good news for office tenants rents are dropping. Call volume is way down all over, mirroring what’s happening in residential. 16 Court Street cut prices for the third time this year and is now offering a couple spaces outside the pre-built program for under $30 psf (ouch) if a decent tenant takes them as-is. Morgan Stanley is putting two floors at One Pierrepont Plaza on the market for sublet shortly at competitive prices, we hear. That being said, Brooklyn still has a shot because of REAP, the City/State tax abatement program that grants heavy tax credits for tenants moving employees from the small island across the water to eligible properties on the big island. MetroTech, One Pierrepont, 16 Court, 186 Joralemon, Two Trees properties and others are eligible, because the program targets major renovations and new construction, to encourage same. Click through for more commercial news.
The party doesn’t stop in DUMBO. The new shared work space Green Desk continues to grow at 155 Water, serving folks both within and relocating to Brooklyn. Even Green Desk, though, has cut its prices, reducing single desk space from $450 to $375 a month. Working Today, the people with the cool Freelancers Union ads on the subway, are taking over 6,000 sf in 20 Jay Street at $20 a foot, we hear. Small tenants keep calling for space, not enough….When’s Sunset Park going to be ready? It is? OK.
CUNY’s still flogging a lease to death for 2 MetroTech. Hope the government revenue fall doesn’t kill it #0151;space is needed badly by the University.
Commercial Klutch: September Edition [Brownstoner]
Commercial Klutch: August Edition [Brownstoner]
Commercial Klutch: July Edition [Brownstoner]
I suppose I agree somewhat with above; when I first moved from SF, it was depressing to go into (mainly) food stores and not have the cashiers, far from smiling, even say thank you when you paid. Even, for example the wine store on 7th between Carroll/Garfield, or the Copy Shop, the staff were uniformly grim. I used to say pointedly, you’re welcome, but gave up after a while.
Luckily, Associated, near me has tolerably friendly staff.
Re: the friendly staff at TJ’s. I tend to go during quieter hours — weekday mornings soon after they open — and a few times I’ve heard staff members discussing where they came from, i.e. TJ’s locations elsewhere in the country from which they have been imported. This is why they’re uncommonly helpful. In NYC, there is a different (more genuine) brand of friendly, IMO. Shopkeepers who get to know you and DO ask after your family, etc. The superficial friendliness of TJ’s staff is more common outside NYC. “Hi. How are you? Do you need help? (smile and move on)”
Urban Outfitters, great place to shoplift. That’s about it.
Re: Urban Outfitters-
Nice shoppe but poorly located and pricey.
I like Trader Joe’s. Reasonable prices, and if you can go during off-peak hours you can get in and out of there quickly (especially compared to the 14th Street store). And their staff are very friendly and polite.
Yes, Whole Paycheck or Fairways would be nice downtown, but WF is very pricey and there is a Fairways down in Red Hook.
I like Trader Joe’s. Reasonable prices, and if you can go during off-peak hours you can get in and out of there quickly (especially compared to the 14th Street store). And their staff has very friendly and polite.
Yes, Whole Paycheck or Fairways would be nice downtown, but WF is very pricey and there is a Fairways down in Red Hook.
Someone doesn’t like the high ceilings in Trader Joe’s? Man, this is a tough crowd! I actually had hoped they’d add a mezzanine or something, but I’m betting the LPC wouldn’t allow that. I love it. Reminds me of a big open-air market in my hometown. I also think it’s got a ton of great products, and the prices are insanely low.
The Urban Outfitters, I think, was just a poor read on the demographics of the neighborhood. I hear all day long about how hipster Brooklyn is, but all I see around that area — my ‘hood — are folks in their 30s/40s who are new-ish parents or look like they might be any moment. They may be liberals, or in creative fields, but they’re not walkin’ around wearing the clothes they already wore in junior high in the 80s. They looked bad then, they look bad now.
I swore a Gap was going to open there, and if it did — with a big Baby Gap section — there would be marauding hordes. No offense to those young parents who may still sort of think of themselves as the UO demographic, but let’s talk turkey. It’s baby-town over there these days.
I’m from out of town… but been here for quite a while…
I find the Trader Joe’s frenzy quite funny. I’ve lived in two other cities (Boston and Seattle) where there are a bunch of Trader Joe’s in each so I’m not that excited. Though, I’m happy they’ve moved in.
Also – I think the Trader Joe’s excitement (as I’ve said before on this blog when they first opened) is related to the general frenzy that occurs when ANY supermarket bigger/cleaner than a bodega opens up.
I don’t think it’s the loveliest market in Kings County — like others have said above, that would require a selection that is that of a proper supermarket (i.e., one-stop-shopping… not TJ’s type stuff that I wouldn’t want to eat every day for every meal).
Urban is also not stroller friendly and has these massive stairs…its just not in the right place…