This post appeared in a previous blog and is here for posterity’s sake.

If anyone wants to see the world through the eyes of a retailer or realtor, this article about Brooklyn Real Estate is an interesting insight into the world where design – and people – are second (and third) thoughts.
Take this paragraph for example – one of the more asinine observations about Brooklyn:

Yet for such a large consumer market, Brooklyn remains under-retailed. If Brooklyn were a city unto itself, it would be the fourth largest in America. The borough has more people than Houston, yet few big shopping centers — including Forest City’s Atlantic Terminal, Related Cos.’ Gateway Center, Fulton Mall and Vornado Realty Trust’s Kings Plaza. According to Cushman & Wakefield, the average amount of retail space per person in Brooklyn is about 6 square feet, compared with 20 square feet nationwide.

Luckily, one paragraph later, someone intelligent speaks up:

“The small stores are usually where the demand is in the city of New York,” says Havens. “For every Whole Foods store, there are usually about 10,000 bodegas.” Shopping streets in hip neighborhoods like Williamsburg are filled with music stores, coffee shops, restaurants and Internet cafes. National retailers such as Subway and Verizon are also present. Typical store size is usually around 5,000 to 10,000 square feet.

You know, trying to compare Brooklyn and the greater New York City area to any other place in the states is just an idiotic thing to do. The combination of geography, culture, urban life, and je ne sai quois of New York City makes it simply unique. So complaining about a lack of lifeless suburban big-box retail in Brooklyn is just plain dumb. And, I for one, gladly make the bargain of having to shop at multiple smaller stores instead of one large mega-store because the quality of life here is vastly better due to the lack of all things which make big box retail viable.