Aimeriez-vous un morceau de fromage?
A Manhattan developer has bought half of an Atlantic Avenue block for $8.3 million, and has begun moving out the current tenants to make room for a mini-Paris on the north bank of Boerum Hill.
“We would like an ice cream parlor, a café, a fromagerie, a chocolatiere, a small little general provision store,” said Barbara Koz Paley, chief executive officer of Atlantic Assets, a real estate investment firm.
The company bought all of the three-story, odd-numbered buildings from 525-541 Atlantic Ave. between Third and Fourth avenues, except 537.
The owner of 537 could not be reached, but some speculated that Paley also sought his building. An aggregation of so many adjacent buildings would create a mini-“super-block” that could be demonlished to make way for an eight-story ediface.
For now, Paley is only seeking a “destination for the community” — and she’s building it the old-fashioned way: by drastically raising rents when leases come up for renewal.
Casbah, at 529 Atlantic Ave., is one of several Arab-American businesses that will be gone by the end of June.
Ahmed Lamrini, the store’s owner, pays $1,550 a month for the approximately 700-square-foot space he uses to sell his handmade jewelry. The new owner wants $4,500.
Two storefronts down — at 525 Atlantic Ave. — Gwen Lewis is packing up for her imminent move to Bedford-Stuyvesant after her rent jumped from $2,000 a month to more than $4,000 for 900 square feet.
“I can’t afford it,” said Lewis.
Some business leaders question whether anyone is going to pay such exorbitant prices.
“They are small spaces in a relatively low-traffic location,” said Ken Adams, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
“Montague Street is great retail space, Fulton Street is great retail space, Atlantic Avenue is only good retail space,” he added.
He’s not the only community leader dubious of Paley’s still-vague plans for the block.
“I don’t know where she got her information about the kind of rent she is charging and the kind of businesses she wants there,” added Sandy Balboza, president of the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association.
One thing is for sure — Paley doesn’t want the sort of businesses that are there now. And the business owners know it.
Islam Fashion, at 541 Atlantic Ave., still has four and a half years left on its lease, but owner Mohamed Zohny is preparing for the inevitable.
“Before I lose my place here, I have to establish business in another place,” said Zohny, who’s been at his present spot for more than five years.
“They think we make millions of dollars here?” quipped Zohny, standing in front of rows of musk oil and frankincense. “I don’t sell drugs. I just sell clothes.”
Adams says that rising retail rents in many Brooklyn neighborhoods are increasingly forcing out business owners like Zohny’s.
“Often they are the businesses that have created the character of the strip,” said Adams. “To some degree, they become the victims of their own hard work. As the neighborhoods improve, the landlords raise rent.”
The storefronts in question take up the bottom floors of residential buildings with more than 20 apartments surrounding a courtyard. The properties comprise about 22,500 square feet.
Built in the early 20th century, the buildings have seen their share of turnover. And now, said Paley, it’s time for some more. She added that neighbors will be pleased with the new amenities.
“Once you start [new leases], everything starts to change,” said Paley.
Gwen Lewis wishes she could participate in the evolution of Atlantic Avenue, rather than be a casualty of it.
“I really have nothing against [development], I just really want to be a part of it,” said Lewis, who has run an art gallery at this location for 11 years. “[This block] is more than just a strip — it’s a community.”
