Candidates for Landmarking in Downtown B'kln

I think this discussion caused some debate some time back. Some people thought the current Fulton Mall is a bit of a seedy area. I agree with that and have often said to my wife that it is a shame that so many nice buildings have been ruined with billboards or gutted ground floors filled with fast food restaurants or cell phone stores.

Others have countered that they like the stores and have said that it is an affordable place for people in the projects to shop. I'm not sure I agree with that as the merchandise isn't necessarily very cheap (expensive sneakers and clothes). I suppose there is Conways which is good for people on a tighter budget.

In any event, I'm not advocating getting rid of inexpensive shopping or making the entir area high end. I feel a good mix would be worthwhile. However, that being said, I agree with brownstoner that the place would be hard pressed to change to any higher end tenants in its current state. There is usually trash all over the streets, the facades of most buildings are a complete mess, and it is a bit dodgy walking around the area at night. Going to be a hard road to improve it, but maybe a few big retail tenants could help. Macy's is there, but it is generally in disarray whenever I've been there. Maybe new office buildings would provide the impetus for improvement.

There is also the planned condo coversion of the Verizon building which should do some good to the area that is a bit of a wasteland at night.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 6, 2005 10:33 AM

How certain is it that the downtown redevelopment will proceed. I think it is a great initiative, subject to preservation of architecturally significant structures, that would be are real boost to a run-down business district.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 6, 2005 10:45 AM

I'm not against Fulton Mall the way it is, no necessarily against the signage -- albeit it is not to my taste. What does bug me about the beautiful facades of Fulton Mall is that some of them have weed trees growing out of 'em. It's disappointing to me when folks who own those buildings don't take care of them.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 6, 2005 11:05 AM

I agree, inexpensive does not mean something has to look like cr*p. I have no patience for property owners or stores that cannot clean up and make a place look presentable.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 6, 2005 11:26 AM

I completely disagree w/ the poster who complains about dirt and crime in the area- I walk through it nearly every evening and there's always a security force patrolling the area. Fulton St. is much safer than Livingston and Schermerhorn. It's also kept pretty clean considering the volume of people that use the mall.

I also want to ask how many more "high-end" stores we need in the area? With so much of the adjoining neighborhoods becoming yuppie havens (and so many family/small buisiness closing - I counted three moves alone on on Smith St. this week) it seems crucial to have a place in downtown with shopping opportunities for a more diverse crowd.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 7, 2005 12:07 AM

No one is advocating getting rid of all low end stores, but to diversify so it is an economically viable area for everyone. Believe or not, all of the yuppies would like to have a place to shop that doesn't cost an arm and a leg too, but to pretend that Fulton mall is a nice place to shop and hang out at night is a bit much. It is in the center of downtown Brooklyn and it looks like some economically depressed rust belt city downtown area.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 7, 2005 9:51 AM