Tuesday, March 7, 2017

So, This is Happening....

What a waste... Santa Fe closed, what, like three years ago and has sat virtually empty except around Halloween since? Think of all the excellent food we could've been consuming since? The second is Uno's. Ditto...



24 comments:

  1. I think you meant the title to say "This is Still Happening".

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  2. Well at least we won't have a 12 story monstrosity towering over Austin Street instead now. But I do hope they get some really excellent vendors in there, and not the cheap chains we've seen lately.

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  3. No kidding. But that's the general story around town. I see For Rent signs all over the place and then as we have noticed, when something does open up, it can be a bit disappointing, like urgent care, the new Hanover bank coming to Austin (woo hoo!) or that hearing aid place that's coming. Very sad indeed. I'm totally looking forward to Guantanamera opening by the Family Restaurant, but even that's moving at a snails pace, been closed since the summer, oh add Baluchi's to the mystery, have no idea where that's going! The landlords seem to think we have reached Williamsburg status and are asking for rents in line with that type of place. We simply are not there yet. There are many elderly people here and in general the restaurant scene, while ok, is not quite exactly booming. I just don't understand who is benefiting from leaving so many places vacant. I certainly hope for some interesting openings soon...

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    1. Well, with elderly people around, perhaps though not exciting, a hearing aid business will have a shot at being successful. Utterly amazing is that there is a space on Austin Street, a block or two from Natural, that used to be occupied by a hair salon. That space has been empty for over 8 years.

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  4. Too many Urgent Care clinics here. They wouldn't generate much money, but I've always wanted an art gallery or independent book store or miniature botanical garden in this neighborhood..

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    1. Definitely not there yet in FH. Not "hip" enough yet for those things.

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  5. The landlords get a vacancy allowance that benefits them more than renting does, or at least makes not renting a viable option.

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    1. lol... you sure you know what vacancy allowance is?

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  6. Landlords have been charging Tribeca/SoHo rents in FH for the last 20 years. Many original business like Anderson Florist and Fame Travel moved to Madison Avenue because rents were more reasonable.

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    1. Median asking rents for SoHo are literally 10 times higher than FoHi, nevermind Madison Ave.

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  7. This entire block should be redevelopment with large apartment buildings. The new buildings will have better retail and a built-in demographic for the restaurants. Win-win.

    The current block looks awful, like something in outer NJ. Forest Hills is supposed to be an urban, dense, walkable, transit-oriented neighborhood. We should be modeling our community after Manhattan not East Rutherford.

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  8. I wouldn't mind seeing something like a Croxleys open in the Santa Fe location. Great beer selection and a wing deals and great spot for watching sports.

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  9. We really need a book store

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    1. We had one, but low-end retail won in the end. I'm in favor of Whole Foods. There's no place to get a wide selection of organic around here, let alone good organic grass fed beef.

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  10. austin street should be closed to vehicles except overnight deliveries and emergencies. it should be a cobblestone walking street with a huge parking lot in the vacant spaces on restaurant row to make up for lack of street parking. then we could have carts in the middle in good weather and tons of outdoor seating so restaurants can make more money out of the tiny austin st shops. like the promenade in santa monica.

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    1. I do find this idea very interesting. Just not sure that model would work in FH. To totally redo the road and permanently close it to vehicular traffic in hopes that more restaurants would open and it would become a happening spot would be too much of a gamble to take.

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    2. I like this idea as well, though there would probably be too much resistance from the parking garages that exist on the west end of austin now. Maybe from continental to Ascan? Honestly, what value does having cars there provide now? There are never any parking spots, and traffic is horrendous.

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    3. What happens during the deep of winter?

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    4. Where would all the traffic be redirected to and where would all the cars park? Certainly not the Gardens and definitely not along QB and there aren't enough lots in the area to accommodate the removal of all those parking spots. So in theory your idea is wonderful on paper or in your mind but in reality it is far from feasible.

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  11. With all of the uncertainty about what will happen on this block in the future, nothing permanent will come in. The property owner WILL BUILD EVENTUALLY. It's just a matter of time. Perhaps convert the empty spaces to temporary eating spaces for popular NYC street vendors or incubator spaces for new eateries. Something to fill the space for now.

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  12. People do not buy books like they use to. I don't understand why people keep thinking that would do well here. There was a bookstore, and it went out of business.

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  13. We had 2 bookstores and they both closed.

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    1. Four if you count the comic book stores that went under ages ago.

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