Census of Local Businesses - Updates

Census of Business on Nostrand Avenue

When the Economic Development Committee of Community Board 8 turned its attention to Nostrand Avenue, I became interested in knowing more about this commercial corridor and my first thought was to find out what is there.  So I walked down the avenue marking down the businesses there, not just on the avenue but off on side streets as well. I marked the off the avenue ones with a line like this: -------------------.  I found 192 places occupied mostly by businesses but also by churches and community centers.  There were also 40 empty spots, making a vacancy rate of about 20%.  Having had some contact with business owners through a program called Businesses for Books meant to get businesses to act in support of Brower Park Library, I knew a fair number of owners.  About 30 businesses on Nostrand had joined this program.  So when I went by and spotted the owner I would pause and ask them what was most pressing for them.  The answers from about ten owners went as follows:

Do something to keep rents down and get long-term leases.  Having a short term lease makes planning difficult.  Might a strong merchant association do something about this, particularly in conjunction with sympathetic politicians.

Find a way of increasing security.  Drug dealers, aggressive beggars, homeless people living on the street, petty criminals all give the avenue the wrong feel as though things are falling apart.  Most of the people I talked to thought having an increased police presence might have a bad effect also.  What they desired was a pleasant shopping experience for their customers free of worries or difficult confrontations.  How might this be achieved?

9.1 Old woman at Bergen Street with a cane

Having the street clean and beautiful.  There were complaints about litter accumulating and Sanitation not dealing with it when they picked up garbage.  There were also complaints about private haulers.  Many endorsed attempts at beautification – flowers, shrubs and trees.  Also some people liked the paintings on walls that helped create a better impression.  They wished for more of this.

9.2 Photo of the outside of Japanese Bowl

There was also a desire for help with business matters – hiring, keeping accounts, dealing with inspectors and regulations, filing taxes, making deals with contractors, getting legal advice.  This was particularly the case for those for whom English is a second language.

So here are the results of a first run.  Clearly more information is needed, more organizing, and more thought about finding solutions.

– John DeWind