Trying to Turn Ex-Commuters into Consumers

Home Brooklyn Life Trying to Turn Ex-Commuters into Consumers
Brooklyn College's first dorm building brings a new clientele to local businesses. (Richard Nieva/ The Brooklyn Ink)
Brooklyn College's first dorm building brings a new clientele to local businesses. (Richard Nieva/ The Brooklyn Ink)

By Richard Nieva

Brooklyn College’s first-ever student dormitory has brought a new influx of students to what was historically a commuter campus, and with half the school year almost over, local businesses continue trying to figure out ways to engage this new population.

Merchants in the area have been experimenting with different ways to encourage student buying since the residence hall—called 1 Kenilworth Pl., on the intersection of Farragut Road and Kenilworth Place—opened in August.

“It’s a slow process, but we’re moving forward,” said Kevin Johnson, president of the Flatbush Junction Business Improvement District (BID), whose family also owns the nearby Crystal’s Bar and Grill. Though he hasn’t yet seen a significant growth in business, he said he is reassured by more of a student presence he’s seen at the bar.

Johnson has started catering to students by offering 10 percent discounts to Brooklyn College students and hosting Monday Night Football nights. The increased foot traffic on those nights has prompted him to purchase more “football food” like chicken wings, in order to keep up with the demand.

Other businesses are already reaching out to students, said Lisa Solomon, executive director of the Flatbush Junction BID, which helps facilitate about 160 businesses in the area, covering a 12-block radius. These changes include fast food restaurants staying open later and the local YMCA being in talks about starting a hip hop dance class and an exercise class.

The Flatbush Junction area has seen rapid growth in recent years, with the opening of the Triangle Junction Mall in 2008—housing a corporate trifecta of businesses: Target, Applebee’s and David’s Bridal, among others.

Johnson eventually hopes to transform the corridor near the college to resemble Cortelyou Road, the main commercial stretch in the Ditmas Park area of the neighborhood, only two miles away. Cortelyou was recently touted a new “foodie destination” by the Wall Street Journal.

The BID—which helps facilitate about 160 businesses in the area, covering a 12-block radius—has started by administering the Storefront Improvement Program. The program gives local storeowners the incentive to clean up and revamp their storefronts because the city, under the New York City Small Business Service, will match anything they spend up to $5,000.

Koren Stern, who co-owns the urban fashion boutique Get Set with two locations in the junction, has taken advantage of the program. The chain has six locations in the city, including two in Manhattan. Stern said his goal for the storefront renovations was to make his Brooklyn locations look more like stores in the Village.

Brooklyn College is just the latest New York City public college to open its doors to on-campus students. Queens College welcomed 500 new student residents when it opened its first dorm this August. City College New York in Harlem has had a residence hall with 600 student accommodations since 2006.

The next step is supporting these students on weekends and after class, said Pat Willard, director of communication for Brooklyn College.

But even with the new dorm in place, business has been slow to trickle to nearby merchants. Stern, co-owner of Get Set, made his plea to Brooklyn College students. “I’m truly waiting for the moment they will come in,” he said.

Ellis Simon, director of Public Relations at City College in Harlem, drew the same conclusions.

“There has been no discernable impact on economic activity,” he said, regarding the effect of City College’s dorm on his own campus. He acknowledged that live-in students at their dorms are buying, but not to the degree of impacting business startup.

He also mentioned the location of the school as being a factor.

“One building of 600 people in an area with the density of Manhattan is pretty small,” said Simon.

But for the more sprawling borough of Brooklyn, Johnson is more hopeful that the students will come around. He said the new live-in student presence and the revamping plans would benefit each other.

“They work hand in hand,” he said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.