Lots of Stores For Rent on Flatbush
While occupancy rates at the Fulton Mall looked very high when we rode through a month ago, the same cannot be said of the strip of Flatbush Avenue that forms the border of Prospect Heights and Park Slope. More specifically, we counted nine empty storefronts on the three blocks between Dean Street and Prospect Place….
While occupancy rates at the Fulton Mall looked very high when we rode through a month ago, the same cannot be said of the strip of Flatbush Avenue that forms the border of Prospect Heights and Park Slope. More specifically, we counted nine empty storefronts on the three blocks between Dean Street and Prospect Place. Nine.
Fulton Mall Appears To Be Bucking Retail Downturn [Brownstoner]
Actully, if you want to go back to the “bad” old days. The anchor for that strip of Flatbush Avenue was andPintchik. The family was able to pick up several adjacent and nearby buildings as “they” tried to kill Brooklyn. You would also have to cite the conversion of the old Carlton theater to the first home of Brooklyn Tabernacle. (For reference, that location is now the site of the WaMu bank.)
There is still a supermarket on this strip and the blockbuster’s is also still there. The movie theater is now an AMwercian Apparel. There are also quite a number of relatively nice looking wine shops. Here’s my take on what happened here. This block used to be the end of where the yuppy park slope ended and the significantly more grungy prospect heighhts began. Also, the constant flow of traffic gives the street less curb appeal despite all the pedestrian traffic and the existense of subway stops at both ends (bergen and GAP0). All of those factors combined to make this strip erlatively grungy and low-rent. Now that prospect heights has gotten less grungy and more yuppy, the landlords were thinking they could raise rents and attract shops to the yuppies on both sides of the corridor. The problem is, those folks would rather shop on streets with more curb appeal (5th Ave, 7th, Vanderbilt, etc) ans the landlords overreached on rent, causing alot of the old grungier shops to close without being able to attract the newer yuppie shops. And then of course you have to factor in the meltdown in the economy. At the end of the day, if someone can figure out a way to increase the curb appeal of this stretch of road (a planted median, more trees, etc) then there’s no reason that this corridor shouldn’t succeed as a high end retail strip. It’s got way more pedestrian activity than vanderbilt and it’s got subway stops that attract people everyday.
Just my $0.02
This is a consequence of insanity. The Asshead perception are distorted by the Mutant Asset Bubble! In the MAB up is down, left is right and black is white. The Asshead never factor time=money and while they are waiting for the “Greater Fool” they lose revenue in the long run. The only we can get back to normalcy is economic punishment where fool pay for their mistakes…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
Heather don’t feel bad – I was sort of picking on you because the “rent as the most important factor in retail viability” is a common theme that people around here and elsewhere love to cite….It is sort of like bonuses being the main point of discussion on the Financial meltdown – it makes it easy to find the villains (Landlords or rich people) and voice outrage in terms people can understand – unfortunately the reality is often far more complex and difficult to grasp, deal with and solve.
But to put it into a more “street level” thought – I am always amazed how people walk past CLOSED retail stores on their way to work at 9am and then again walk past the same stores on their way home at 6pm as the stores are CLOSING and then later mourn the loss of a mom and pop store and blame the LL or chain stores.
Bessie, I love that block. A comic store just opened, and there’s a veterinarian opening soon I think too. North Slope rules!
I live on 7th Avenue … unsure about posers, but in my experience it’s usually full of old people and young couples with kids, except for right at rush hour.
That said, I would not pick 7th Ave for an enjoyable stroll. The sidewalks aren’t very wide and everyone there (see above) moves at a snail’s pace.
Sorry to see Harriet’s go. My brother bought a custom frame there for one of his pieces of art. But I’m not surprised it didn’t survive. You know, although this stretch is mostly bereft of stors, I have always liked it. It’s just a nice block for strolling straight into downtown. Grab a patie at the top of the hill and walk down. I always seem to run into someone I know. It’s much better than 7th Avenue, which is usually full of posers. But that’s just me.
You know your neighborhood commercial strip has “made it” when there’s at least one real estate agency on every single block! 7th Avenue fo life, yo!
My last observation about that strip: (and yes, perhaps my rent comment was rather, “d’oh,” but considering the number of failing retail districts in Brooklyn lately, it seemed appropriate… even though I’m not convinced that retail rents are that different from gentrified to non, actually.)
Anyways, my last observation, bear with me, I barely slept: from what I remember about that part of Flatbush ages and ages and eons ago, is that it had a grocery store, a movie theater, a few irish pubs, and a blockbuster video. I would suspect that these businesses did a great deal to prop up the district, make it appealing to foot traffic, etc. I think the grocery store is still there? But nothing else is, correct?