L Train Non-Shutdown Helped Fill W'burg Storefronts, Report Says

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — The L train shutdown that never was has helped fill up empty storefronts in Williamsburg, this time with corporate chains instead of smaller mom-and-pop shops, a study by Brownstoner found.

The real estate news outlet recently took the pulse of the neighborhood's main commercial corridors now that the dreaded 15-month L train shutdown, called off at the last minute by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is a distant memory. Cuomo's new plan for repairs to the transit line, which only slowed the L on nights and weekends, is set to wrap up in April.

What Brownstoner found was that the averted L crisis seems to have done a lot for businesses that were at once hesitant about setting up shop in the neighborhood.

Two of Williamsburg's main shopping corridors, North Sixth Street and Bedford Avenue, have both seen an influx of businesses opening up in the last year, some in storefronts that had once been long-vacant, the report said.

“The recent uptick in retail activity is directly related to the easing of concerns regarding the L train scheduled overhaul,” Timothy King, a Managing Partner at CPEX Real Estate, told Brownstoner. “The entire neighborhood’s real estate market has been on pause while folks tried to figure out what it all meant and how it would impact the community.”

Brownstoner counted five new businesses that opened just in the month of September along North Sixth Street and another two that set up shop in the last year or so. On Bedford, five new spots have opened up in the past year, most just in the last few months.

The real estate experts also noted another shift the new stores reveal about the business climate — they're turning the once mom-and-pop neighborhood to more of a shopping mall.

Longtime business owners told Brownstoner that Williamsburg's move from "small college town feel" to more national chains has been in the making for a while now. The streets once populated by smaller markets, restaurants and boutiques are turning over to the more corporate brands, the real estate outlet said.

And the experts said the "majors" are likely only going to grow now that rents are down.

“Most stores have been abandoned waiting for the major corporations to put down their deposit,” said Mikey Weiss, owner of a North Sixth Street computer repair shop that's been there for 15 year. “I’m guessing other major stores were waiting to see how well they did before they pulled the trigger. Now that other major chains are dipping their toes in the water, the other majors follow quickly.”

To read the full report, click here.