86th Street businesses see ‘lines around the block’
BY JESSICA PARKS
As the city continues to reopen,
Brooklyn Paper sat down
for an exclusive interview with
Patrick Condren, the executive
director of the 86th Street Business
Improvement District, to
discuss the economic health of
Bay Ridge’s bustling commercial
thoroughfare.
Brooklyn Paper: How
long has the 86th Street
Business Improvement District
been around?
Patrick Condren: We now
have 131 properties with about
110 property owners — with
about 160 to 165 stores it varies.
It is a very condensed spot,
highly concentrated with the
nationals. We have Victoria Secret,
TJ Maxx, Century 21, GAP,
Banana Republic. We have 33
stores that serve food, those
kinds of stores — if you want to
call it that — serve everything.
We have Chipotle, McDonald’s,
Burger King, we’ve got all the
nationals between the pizza
stores and Stewart’s.
It’s a fascinating shopping
center located by the N and the
R train, where people get off
and get on a bus and go over to
Staten Island and vice-versa.
From Staten Island, they come
here get on a train and go to
Manhattan. We are very much
a terminus area.
BP: How will the business
be impacted by the upcoming
closure of Century 21?
PC: We are optimists here.
We thank Century 21 for investing
in 86th Street BID for 6o
years and being a major, major
player in this district and creating
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what we think is a hightraffi
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.
People are getting on and off the
trains all the time, half a million
people live within walking
distance of 86th Street, so it has
always been a major shopping
district.
BP: What does the 86th
Street BID do? How is it
funded?
PC: The mission is to promote
the general welfare of
the people living in, working
in and visiting our neighborhood.
It is a not-for-profi t, an
active member of the New
York City BID Association
for many, many years. There
are over 75 BIDs in New York
City now and we report with
and are on a contract with the
Small Business Services unit
of the City of New York.
We are a very active group
of property owners and store
owners. We stay on top of this
and we get a lot of bang for the
buck. We put up the best Christmas
lights and holiday lights in
town, we think. We get Santa
Claus out there. It’s all about
shopping 86th Street. We want
to promote our district. That’s
what we do. We keep it simple
and we keep the streets clean.
BP: How have businesses
in the district been impacted
by COVID-19?
PC: We have lost a bunch
with COVID. We are taking
a little bit of a hit but not
compared to some places, not
much. We have 160 store locations,
we have a little bit of a
fall off of about a dozen stores
which is unusual for us. We
usually lose about four or fi ve.
But since we reopened, we
got the crowds back immediately.
And during the time
we were closed, the essential
stores were open. Not as many,
no big crowds in March, early
to mid-April. But in May and
June, things started coming
back quickly.
BP: What are some of the
unique struggles and challenges
businesses within the
district are experiencing because
of COVID?
PC: I am pleased to advise
that 86th Street is a busy place.
The good news is that a majority
of the stores are open. We
are pleased to say that a majority
of the stores have when
they reopened, COVID plans
in place and we have lines
around the block at Victoria’s
Secret, TJ Maxx and Century
21 for people to get in to shop.
The biggest problem we had
on the streets was garbage because
with 33 places selling
food and lots of people coming
and going for the reopening,
we didn’t have enough garbage
cans for all the stuff. People
weren’t allowed to eat inside.
BP: Who shops on 86th
Street?
PC: Our shoppers include
everybody in Brooklyn,
Queens, Long Island, Staten
Island and North Jersey. We
have everybody that used to be
here still come back. We have
everybody getting on and off
the subway and getting on and
off the buses to Staten Island.
So we have good activity. Is it
like it used to be? No. It is a bit
of a slide? Yes, but it’s not evident
compared to some places.
This interview has been edited
for clarity and brevity. Visit
BrooklynPaper.com for more.
86th Street BID Execitive Director
Patrick Condren. Brooklyn Paper
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