January 5, 2008: Vol. 31, No. 1

If only. If only Fort Greene had a light-rail running down Myrtle Avenue. If only Fort Greene had one-bedroom apartments renting for $1,000 a month. If only Fort Greene had a bowling alley. Okay, some “if only’s” are more likely than others. A bank is one of the more likely ones. So are a bakery and a bookstore. But who cares what my “if onlys” are? What’s important are yours.

That’s right. Somebody actually wants to hear what you, dear kvetchers, have to say. That somebody is the Fort Greene Association’s retail committee. Its six members have put out a survey, dubbed “the Fort Greene Shopping Survey,” to measure the wants and needs of the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill consumer.

“We’re trying to reach out to every sub-sector of the neighborhood, not just the yuppified Farmers Market crowd, but also people at Ingersoll, Whitman, the senior centers, students at St. Joe’s and Pratt,” said Myka Carroll del Barrio, one of the organizers and a Clinton Hill resident.

And this is no one-off, B.S. questionnaire destined for an unlabeled box in someone’s dank basement. No, this is legit (all right, it seems legit). Once the surveying period ends on Jan. 15, the results will be tallied, and the Association will use those results to woo local business owners, would-be entrepreneurs, and even Manhattan business owners to our corner of the Borough of Kings. Seminars will be planned. Marketing materials will be sent.

“We’ll analyze the results and put out marketing materials to those who already own businesses, and we’re thinking about sponsoring a set of seminars for people who want to open a business,” said Steve Sachs, who is not only del Barrio’s comrade in surveying, but also the business-savvy publisher of Real Simple magazine, and a Fort Greene resident.

Thus far, several hundreds of people have taken the survey, according to Sachs … including me.

It was so easy, even a Luddite could do it. First step: click on http://fortgreeneshopping.googlepages.com. Second step, click on “Take the Fort Greene Shopping Survey.” Third step, answer 10 easy questions, each of which asks, in one form or another, what sort of shop would you like to see in the neighborhood.

Personally, I’d love to see a bookstore. But perhaps my favorite idea mentioned in the survey is a bowling alley, like the hipster joint that just opened in Williamsburg, or even like that old-school relic in Sunset Park. Just picture it: a Stella at Frank’s, arepas at Luz, bowling in Clinton Hill.

I’m not the only one charmed by the idea.

“When I heard of the bowling alley, I thought that was a great idea,” said del Barrio. “What else is there that would bring the community together? That was the kind of out-of-the-box thinking we were hoping this would prompt.”

For her part, del Barrio would also like to see a general interest bookstore and a kid-friendly cafe (you know, an alternative to the cooler-than-thou attitude at Smooch or the quiet chic at Bittersweet).

Or, as del Barrio put it, one where “you feel like you can take your kids and be noisy without someone on a laptop looking like she’s going to shoot you.”

For his part Sachs would like a good bakery and a hardware store.

“[But] It’s not so much about what I’m looking for personally, our focus is on what the community is interested in,” clarified Sachs.

So get to it, community!

For once, someone’s asking, what do you want your neighborhood to be?

Dana Rubinstein is a staff writer for The Brooklyn Paper

The Kitchen Sink

Our recent story about a local effort to create a Park Slope Food Co-op in Fort Greene has sparked some chatter. The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC discussed it on Thursday, and DK Holland, the progenitor of the idea, said she’s been approached by several interested parties. To chart the Co-op’s course, check out its new blog, at fortgreenecoop.wordpress.com. …

We hear the Parks Department is considering adding to the new wealth of bike racks in the nabe by installing a couple of its own at Fort Greene Park. This is, apparently, the time to be a bike rider in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. …

Dermot Co., the big-time firm that helped transform the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building into fancy condos (and a firm that has sparked complaints from rent-stabilized tenants of other local buildings) has snapped up two more rent stabilized buildings in Fort Greene, at 260 and 262 St. James Pl., between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue.  Dermot paid $4.1 million for the two five-story, 20-unit buildings. Do we hear more complaints coming down the pipeline?

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper