Brooklyn's Progress
August/September 2008

BY JILL D'AMICO

High up on the list of a mom and pop retailer’s list of nightmares would probably be waking up to find your business now abuts a 200,000 square-foot discount store. Or would it?

The subjects of great consternation as of late, large national retailers – big-box chain stores – have become a visible part of Brooklyn’s landscape. Previously relegated to far-flung shopping centers, major retailers like Target and Circuit City have set up shop in some of the borough’s bustling retail and transportation corridors – and right alongside the smaller mom and pop stores that make up the intricate patchwork of Brooklyn business.

This delicate balance is being played out across Brooklyn, but it used to be that national retailers passed over New York because of high rents. Eventually realizing their business in volume would cover the high cost per square foot, large chains built up instead of out, and have gone on to multiply and, yes, prosper.

This doesn’t sit well with some advocates of small business in Brooklyn, who argue that larger discount chains are taking business from smaller shops.

“Small business drives our economy,” argues New York City Councilman David Yassky, who represents parts of Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, and Williamsburg and is also chair of the Council’s Small Business committee. “It’s our single biggest job base, and it offers a lot of regular people access to equity. The truth is that protecting mom and pop stores is part of a responsible economic policy.”

A Hive of Activity
Sometimes the very presence of a large retailer helps those small businesses.

Anchoring the busy intersection of Flatbush, Atlantic and Pacific Avenues, two Forest City Ratner properties, Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal, house national chains ranging from Old Navy to Office Max. The Target there has been cited as one of the nation’s best performers. And these stores sit within a stone’s throw of dozens of smaller businesses.

Darren Taylor is the CEO of Boot Camp Fitness, a fitness and personal training facility on Flatbush Avenue, across the street from the Atlantic Terminal mall. Along with being located near transportation – the subway, Long Island Rail Road and buses all stop within a block – the mall draws shoppers seven days a week. Mr. Taylor says the visibility has paid off for his business, which opened in 2005.

“With the mall being across the street, you definitely see a large amount of foot traffic,” he said. “We’re in a hub of transportation and shopping. And to get to those points, people have to pass us.”

Mr. Taylor says some clients have told him the location is what brought them in. This, coupled with the fact that there is no direct fitness competition in either Atlantic Center or Atlantic Terminal, means Boot Camp Fitness is enjoying their position in the middle of it all.

About four miles down the avenue at the busy intersection known as Flatbush Junction, The Junction mall is home to Brooklyn’s newest Target, as well as Circuit City, Children’s Place, Payless shoes and an Applebee’s. Developer Triangle Equities, a Queens-based company, has leased all but one and a half spaces and the mall has already proven a popular attraction. The tightly knit community of retail stores along Nostrand and Flatbush Avenues has been trying to capitalize on the mall’s draw.

“I would say it is drawing more people to the area,” said Gairy, a manager at Family Dollar, a discount national chain, albeit independently owned and operated. “A lot of people are commenting about it.”

“A lot of people are seeing our store for the first time because they are coming for the Target,” he said.

The immediate effects are welcome for what has been “kind of a soft opening,” according to Lori Raphael, executive director of the Flatbush-Nostrand Business Improvement District.

“There’s a lot more retail that hasn’t opened yet,” said Ms. Raphael. “But I think we could say by observation there has been some increase in foot traffic in the general area.”

Give and Take
With foot traffic a definite plus for most retailers, these urban shopping malls could help secure and revitalize areas. Some businesses have more to lose, however.

Along with Target and Circuit City, GameStop recently opened nearby Hank Kwon’s Bulletproof Comics and Games on Nostrand Avenue. Unfortunately, the lure of a large selection and cutthroat prices can entice even his most loyal clientele.

“I’ve lost a lot of my core customers, but on the other hand, I’ve gained new customers,” said Mr. Kwon. “I’m a niche store, though, so new customers will pass by and come in and shop.”

Mr. Kwon counters by offering a large assortment of video games, equipment and comics, and even hosts in-store tournaments, the kind of experience shoppers won’t find in a larger retailer.

“It’s a bit of a trade off,” he said, “but not an even trade.”

For their part, Target says they look for a thriving small business economy when scouting locations.

“One of the things we look at is the retail environment already in place,” said Steve Linders, a Target spokesman. “We like to think that our stores help other retailers in the community grow and one of the things we want to do is grow with the community.”

Back near Atlantic Center, Abdul Rehium, owner of Computer Whiz, a computer retail and repair shop, is philosophical about competing across from large retailers such as Office Max and Circuit City.

“There is a good part of it and bad part,” he sighed. “Sometimes they send me customers, sometimes I send them customers. Sometimes they take customers from me, and sometimes I take customers from them. You could say it’s a trade off.”

Rising to the Challenge
Faced with the prospect of bigger neighbors, some small businesses are rising to the challenge – and rightly so, according to Barry Maher, a small business consultant.

“If [a small business] can grab a niche they can satisfy (like greater expertise, personal service, greater transparency, local responsibility, etc.), they can not only survive, they can thrive,” he said, “seizing even more business from all the traffic and attention the large chain retailer brings to the area.”

Councilmember Yassky has been working on behalf of small businesses and floating ideas for a program that would give support and incentives to mom and pop small business, such as the one currently in place for manufacturers throughout the city. He is also advocating local business and civic groups to create marketing campaigns asking people to shop locally.

Victoria Stennett Bailey, a realtor in the Flatbush Junction area, is the chair of the board of the Flatbush-Nostrand BID. She reports that the group has successfully implemented an ambitious storefront improvement program that provides up to $5,000 in matching grants for business owners who want to give their storefronts a facelift. Mr. Kwon of Bulletproof Games and Comics was among the first to sign up.

“We have to counter the idea that Target came and we’re suffering,” said Ms. Stennett Bailey. “I am quite sure Target is feeling some pinch because of the economy as well.”