Northern and Central Brooklyn neighborhoods, such as East Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Flatbush and Bed-Stuy were among the city’s most active areas for proposed and already-existing retail stores during the past year, according to the Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) recently-released Brooklyn Retail Report for 2024.

This is partially because these places already have the “essentials” that attract both residents and retailers, such as existing grocery stores, health services, good schools, child care services and more. And new residential developments attract new retailers.

This is only one of the many trends noted in the report, which analyzes not only retail activity in Brooklyn as a whole but also 17 commercial corridors throughout the borough — mainly in Northern Brooklyn; DUMBO and Downtown Brooklyn; brownstone neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Park Slope, and Bay Ridge.

As far as types of businesses are concerned, the most active area in the borough, according to REBNY, is the food and beverage sector. “There is no shortage of coffee shops and quick-service restaurants opening stores,” the report says. Fashion, wellness and beauty are also active here, the report says.

Still, the rapid leasing of storefronts in new developments means a crunch for what REBNY calls “essential service retailers” — grocery stores, medical-care outlets, child care and schools. In the long run, the real estate organization says, these businesses are as important as high-profile sectors like entertainment, nightlife, dining and fashion.

Brooklyn is known as a trend-setter, and that is why new business entrepreneurs open up here to “test their product’s appeal” even as large national retailers, such as drugstore chains, are closing many of their outlets.

As an example of such a “testing ground,” the report names Brooklyn Made, sponsored by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Its first store, which opened in Industry City in 2023, features products either made in the borough or by artisans abroad that the Chamber has partnered with. Another Brooklyn Made store opened in City Point this past June, and it features 150 local makers, according to an article published in the Eagle at the time.

Still, some neighborhoods have not fully recovered from previous setbacks (presumably the COVID pandemic), REBNY said. “Most Brooklyn corridors are priced 15% to 30% below their prior peaks, even in relatively tight neighborhoods such as Park Slope, at $104 per square foot, and Cobble Hill, at $95 per square foot.” In contrast, however, “rent in Williamsburg is on par with prior peaks.”

As examples of retail leases in new residential developments, the report mentioned Cornbread (a restaurant) at 409 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights; Hounds Town (pet day care) at 809 Atlantic Ave. in Clinton Hill; Bell Slip Social (a café-bar) at One Bell Slip in Greenpoint; VESPER (an event space) at 25 Kent in Williamsburg; Blank Street Coffee at 1 Boerum Place in Brooklyn Heights, and several more.

As we’ve mentioned, in its report, REBNY profiles more than 15 retail corridors in Brooklyn. Here’s what it says about a few:

• Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint: “Asking rent on Manhattan Avenue is one of the lowest among the tracked corridors, averaging $78 per square foot, ranging from a low of $70 per square foot to $108 per square foot,” the report says. Still, retail rent is up by 4% from a year ago. Although new businesses are coming in, Manhattan Avenue still has some of the borough’s “most historic retail spots,” such as Peter Pan Donuts and Kiszka Meat Market.
• Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights: Here, asking rent averages $114 per square foot and is down 11% from a year ago. Last year, REBNY says, existing businesses’ expansions and stores moving to Montague Street from other retail streets “added to Montague Street’s mix of restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops, as well as service retailers catering to residential customers.” While REBNY says some weekday business has fallen off due to people’s return to their offices, local observers might dispute this, since many customers come from the nearby courts, the Brooklyn Municipal Building and the many bank branches on the street.
• Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn: Asking rent here averages $175 per square foot, down 12% from a year ago. Still, rents vary widely — they have declined for older storefronts, but sometimes exceed $200 for new developments. “Fulton Street’s new retail offerings will increase next year when two large retail developments, 555 Fulton and 589 Fulton, come to Market,” REBNY says.
• Seventh Avenue in Park Slope: The Slope is well known for attracting upper-middle class families, and asking rent on 7th Avenue averages $141 per square foot. Retail rents here jumped by 26% year-over-year. “Local residents support a vibrant mix of new restaurants and a relatively stable set of service-oriented retailers,” REBNY says.
• Eighty-sixth Street in Bay Ridge: Asking rent here, according to the real estate group, averages $90 per square foot, and has declined 12% from year-ago numbers. The street, the report says, has more large blocks of retail space than most other corridors, and it also has “several long-standing vacant department stores that closed years ago – TJ Maxx and Century 21.” Still, development by New York Presbyterian Hospital and a new trampoline park are expected to generate more foot traffic.