Nasrin Aljahmi waits in line for Century 21 in Bay Ridge to open to
take advantage of the closing sales. Photo by Paul Frangipane
COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 25-OCT. 1, 2020 3
DEMAND
insurance company reportedly
refused to pay out business
interruption insurance
citing pandemic exceptions.
The closure comes at a
particularly tough time for
retailers looking to stay
ahead while shopping continues
to shift online — a reality
compounded by mass
shutdowns in March and
April onset by the ongoing
health crisis.
“Before the coronavirus,
there was a signifi cant shift
to online purchasing and
the virus only escalated that
trend,” said King. “Century
21 is a casualty of COVID,
they are not alone.”
Now for brick-and-mortars
to remain competitive
in the ever-changing retail
landscape, they have to provide
a service that can only
be offered in-person, King
said. “The retailers of the future
are going to be offering
something that you can’t experience
on your computer
screen.”
As for 86th Street, the
longtime consultant does
not suspect the Bay Ridge
space will have any trouble
fi nding a suitor — nodding
to favorable commercial
zoning requirements and
its location in a major transportation
hub for both cars
and public transit.
“What I think you will
see happen is over the next
12 to 18 months, there will be
new tenants that will come
in to occupy that very prime
space,” King said, foreseeing
big-box stores like Bob’s
Discount Furniture, Aldi’s,
Trader Joe’s and Burlington
Coat Factory fi lling the
space.
Patrick Condren, the executive
director of the 86th
Street BID, shared King’s
confi dence.
“We are optimists here,”
he told Brooklyn Paper in an
exclusive interview about
the economic health of the
shopping strip. “We thank
Century 21 for investing in
86th Street BID for 6o years
and being a major, major
player in this district and
creating what we think is a
high-traffi c shopping zone.
There is obviously going to
be some sort of immediate
impact on some level but we
believe strongly and hope
that the long-term and the
short-term will blend and
people will still come here.”
Similarly, Century 21’s
second location in the borough
— located in Downtown
Brooklyn’s bustling
City Point development —
should also see a quick turnaround,
said King.
“It benefi ts from many
of the similar features as
Bay Ridge in the sense it’s
becoming a very well established
residential community
with thousands of new
apartments coming online,”
King said. “You got the combination
of offi ce workers
commuters, students, and
so forth.”
While it is natural for
there to be grief over a longtime
family business folding,
King said history has
shown that New York City
has little trouble reinventing
itself — and often comes
out better for it.
“Any time you see a multigenerational
family business
fold, its painful,” King
said. “It has been the fabric
of the community for a long
time but this is a city that
constantly reinvents itself
… but I think at the end of
that period, the retail fabric
will be stronger than ever
in the community.”
BY JESSICA PARKS
As Century 21 marks its
impending closure with massive
going out of business
sales, Brooklynites from Bay
Ridge and beyond are lining
up around the block to get into
the sprawling department
store’s fl agship location —
many sad to see the discount
retailer packing its bags.
“This has been a prime location
for great shopping for
years and years and years,”
said a Bensonhurst resident
named Marlene. “We’ve been
shopping here a long time.
It’s the best store.”
Shoppers told Brooklyn Paper
they have been patrons of
the department store for decades
— some since the 86th
Street storefront fi rst opened
in 1961 — and are still coming
back, even since moving out of
the neighborhood.
“I just can’t believe it. I
lived here for many years.
Now I live on Staten Island,
but I always come down to this
store,” said 70-year-old Laura
Daly.
Century 21 on Sept. 10 announced
its plans to close all
13 of its stores in New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Florida, including its original
location on 86th Street in
Bay Ridge — a loss neighborhood
offi cials fear will devastate
the burgeoning business
district. A pair of local politicians
have since moved to
try to save the fl agship store,
while others speculate that
the infl ux of more than one
big-box retailer in Century
21’s place may end up benefi ting
the burgeoning business
district down the line.
Those on line to enter the
store on Tuesday morning —
some of whom live nearby —
say they’re worried about the
economic damage that might
come from the loss of such a
major attraction.
“I grew up coming here
when I lived in Staten Island.
I’ve known this store since I
was a teenager, and now I live
in Bay Ridge … and it’s just a
shame,” said Arlene Severet.
“People come here to shop for
the holidays, for every occasion.”
The resident of 85th Street
said her worst fear is that the
bustling shopping district
may soon become a “ghost
town,” but that she is holding
onto hope that there will be a
bright side.
“I’m optimistic because
they can do other things,
maybe turn this into like a
Caesar’s Bay Bazaar,” Severet
said.
Most of the shoppers said
they would like to see another
department store occupy the
space to help fi ll the void of the
convenient one-stop shop retailer
that Century 21 was for
them.
“I live around here and I’m
so sad they’re closing because
it was like the fi rst stop shopping
place, I come here like literally
every day,” said Nasrin
Aljahmi, a nearby resident
who is optimistic that the beloved
discount department
store may have a second-coming
once the COVID-19 pandemic
is over.
“Hopefully they come back
after this pandemic ends and
everything goes back to a normal
life,” Aljahmi said.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
Southern BK reluctant
to bid farewell to the
longtime retailer
traffi c on 86th Street: Experts