Really important work documenting this. That quote from Julie Reiner nails it-weekend traffic cant sustain a place when everyhting else is rising. I ran a small cofee spot years back and watched the math stop working despite loyal regulars.The Bergen Street situation with those rent hikes is particularly brutal for owners who invested years building their custoemr base.
I also think it’s important to note how the neighborhood changed after Covid.
At first, the support and neighborhood rallied and was engaged in rebuilding the community. Slowly, I watched clients move away and rebuilding a client base took more time. I’ve had pop up markets where I met clients that lived 2 blocks away and never knew I had a store in their neighborhood.
It’s not popular, but it needs to be said. Open streets killed our weekends. Imagine you wait all year for beautiful weather and for folks to come out and about and on a critical weekend, 5th ave is closed from 16th to Bergen street. It literally cut off my business from Parkslope and from Propect Heights open streets. Weekends were critical for making rent and if you’re only making 600-800 on a Saturday and less on Sunday. Numbers are against you. This was really were numbers fell and foot traffic was lost.
I know for a fact 5th businesses all felt the same. They voted to stop open streets every weekend and to all their surprise, The Commissioner formed their own association and was able to continue open streets. No one was happy about how this association was formed and felt very upset, completely blindsided.
For 3 years after 2020. I took my business on the road to participate in markets on Sunday mornings in the Hamptons. After working all week, Saturday evening after I closed, I would pack my car and travel at 4am on Sunday am to set up my tent by 8am, getting home at 10pm. This is how I paid my rent and bills to continue to operate my business in the neighborhood I loved.
In the end, the new landlords offered a lease at from 5k to 9500.00 which I declined. They then listed 458 Bergen at 15.5k.
Even if the rent remained at 5k, the business in this neighborhood was a struggle. We modestly thrived until 2021, and steadily watched the decline in the years after.
I can do my best to explain, it’s a touchy subject that most business owners only talk about to each other for fear the community will think they are taking away places for free /safe space for folks to stroll, shop, enjoy.
In theory it should benefit everyone, in reality it’s great for bars and restaurants. If, if you’re a business directly on 5th ave, yes you may benefit. However, it’s really a large block party for bars and their patrons. Cutting off and closing streets from bus transport to businesses. My particular clients eventually avoided the area in the end. Dealing with more traffic and more headaches.
Patrons who are enjoying extra seating at bars or live music at the (bars) are not shopping.
I was in between Vanderbilt and 5th ave open streets. Which basically contained the folks in their own neighborhood. The foot traffic on my particular block became a ghost town. No one ever wanted open streets to go away, just better managed and more impactful if planned properly. If everyone is having a party, it doesn’t mean you’re going to all the parties.
Also, The Bids took poles and it was voted to not continue each weekend and without anyone’s knowledge, a bar owner created his own association which only benefited his (bars) block along with 2 blocks towards Union. Which created huge issues amongst the business owners. The only way to explain this effectively is reviewing the numbers and reports on how the businesses are performing during this time. I’m happy to share once again my sales and how they significantly decreased on sat and sun. 30 businesses do not just close due to ridiculous rent increases if patrons are shopping them. They were already struggling and continue to struggle and then you cut off an equal playing field. It becomes an annoyance rather than a special event if you do this every weekend! It’s not a popular topic that anyone wants to complain about because again, in theory, it should be a good thing for the neighborhood.
Really important work documenting this. That quote from Julie Reiner nails it-weekend traffic cant sustain a place when everyhting else is rising. I ran a small cofee spot years back and watched the math stop working despite loyal regulars.The Bergen Street situation with those rent hikes is particularly brutal for owners who invested years building their custoemr base.
Bar Vinazo was closed too :(
I also think it’s important to note how the neighborhood changed after Covid.
At first, the support and neighborhood rallied and was engaged in rebuilding the community. Slowly, I watched clients move away and rebuilding a client base took more time. I’ve had pop up markets where I met clients that lived 2 blocks away and never knew I had a store in their neighborhood.
It’s not popular, but it needs to be said. Open streets killed our weekends. Imagine you wait all year for beautiful weather and for folks to come out and about and on a critical weekend, 5th ave is closed from 16th to Bergen street. It literally cut off my business from Parkslope and from Propect Heights open streets. Weekends were critical for making rent and if you’re only making 600-800 on a Saturday and less on Sunday. Numbers are against you. This was really were numbers fell and foot traffic was lost.
I know for a fact 5th businesses all felt the same. They voted to stop open streets every weekend and to all their surprise, The Commissioner formed their own association and was able to continue open streets. No one was happy about how this association was formed and felt very upset, completely blindsided.
For 3 years after 2020. I took my business on the road to participate in markets on Sunday mornings in the Hamptons. After working all week, Saturday evening after I closed, I would pack my car and travel at 4am on Sunday am to set up my tent by 8am, getting home at 10pm. This is how I paid my rent and bills to continue to operate my business in the neighborhood I loved.
In the end, the new landlords offered a lease at from 5k to 9500.00 which I declined. They then listed 458 Bergen at 15.5k.
Even if the rent remained at 5k, the business in this neighborhood was a struggle. We modestly thrived until 2021, and steadily watched the decline in the years after.
Can you go more into how Open Streets hurts local businesses. That's an interesting point that I haven't considered.
I assumed there would be more foot traffic and then more business.
I can do my best to explain, it’s a touchy subject that most business owners only talk about to each other for fear the community will think they are taking away places for free /safe space for folks to stroll, shop, enjoy.
In theory it should benefit everyone, in reality it’s great for bars and restaurants. If, if you’re a business directly on 5th ave, yes you may benefit. However, it’s really a large block party for bars and their patrons. Cutting off and closing streets from bus transport to businesses. My particular clients eventually avoided the area in the end. Dealing with more traffic and more headaches.
Patrons who are enjoying extra seating at bars or live music at the (bars) are not shopping.
I was in between Vanderbilt and 5th ave open streets. Which basically contained the folks in their own neighborhood. The foot traffic on my particular block became a ghost town. No one ever wanted open streets to go away, just better managed and more impactful if planned properly. If everyone is having a party, it doesn’t mean you’re going to all the parties.
Also, The Bids took poles and it was voted to not continue each weekend and without anyone’s knowledge, a bar owner created his own association which only benefited his (bars) block along with 2 blocks towards Union. Which created huge issues amongst the business owners. The only way to explain this effectively is reviewing the numbers and reports on how the businesses are performing during this time. I’m happy to share once again my sales and how they significantly decreased on sat and sun. 30 businesses do not just close due to ridiculous rent increases if patrons are shopping them. They were already struggling and continue to struggle and then you cut off an equal playing field. It becomes an annoyance rather than a special event if you do this every weekend! It’s not a popular topic that anyone wants to complain about because again, in theory, it should be a good thing for the neighborhood.
♥️ heavy heart. Thank you for this vital reporting and crucial advocacy! Summarizing it really hits home