Jackson Heights Life

My vote is for either a French bistro or wine bar - good luck!

I'm very excited by your post.  It would be great to see more of our retail spaces owned by community residents.

If and when you're ready to divulge this information, it would be helpful to know what target rent you're looking for.  That will help prospective business owners determine what types of businesses are feasible in the space.

As far as your question goes, there is a neighborhood wish list thread, and a lot of discussion about a bookstore. 
From what I've heard, independent bookstores have an extremely difficult time economically.  To survive they need to be big and centrally located... it would be tough in Jackson Heights.

But I think you're on the right track in thinking about a children-oriented business.  We have a growing population of families with young children, and the commercial businesses haven't quite caught up with their needs.  I'd love to see a play cafe, but I think this would require more space than you have.

As a pet owner, I would love to see a decent pet supply shop in the neighborhood.  I'm not so crazy about either Petland or Coral Aquarium.  I would like to see a shop that sells better quality pet products and services.

It's interesting to note that a lot of what is being asked for was actually here relatively recently but seems to have gone out of business either for lack of support or inflated rents.

We used to have a JD Bakery on 74th St.

At one time there were two Keyfoods, in addition to what is now TradeFair and Met on 37th ave. as well as a C-Town where CVS is now on Northern and 74th.

Ferns was a fantastic stationery store on 74th St.  We do have a Staples now on 103 and Roosevelt. There is Wise Stationery on 37th Ave. btwn. 81st and 82nd, which seems to be a good place for art supplies.   

Abehill was useful for hardware, and Archer's on 74th and Roosevelt was a lot larger and staffed with friendly helpful people at one point in time. Then there was Long Island Janitor Supply on Roosevelt I think between 75th and 76th or 76th and 77th, that's where you went for some serious hardware when you needed it.

Discount Books, though no B&N, was a great place to actually buy a book and bring it home to read.

There was a larger cafe on 37th ave between 78th and 79th, complete with live local musicians, etc.

We had at least 2 fish markets on 37th ave.

Oh, and a real butcher on 74th st.

We were be speckled with Irish pubs for quite some time.

And there were 2 movie theatres on 82nd St.

Most of these stores disappeared within the last 10 to 12 years. Not terribly long in the life of a neighborhood.

I don't mean to sound like a life long JHer (even though I am) bemoaning the loss of the better times in days gone by, but it's interesting to note that the very things this neighborhood couldn't support in the last 10 years are the things we'd all like to have back now.

So my question I suppose is; What's different now ? It doesn't seem like the population has grown or changed so drastically in the past 10 years that these failed businesses can rise form the ashes like a Phoenix to a new life of success and profitability, or can they ?   

Being the theatre person that I am I always want to turn any empty space I see in to a theatre

Perhaps some form of cafe/cabaret/wine bar with space to have a small black box or at least a stage that could support local musicians, small plays, readings, etc

It's interesting to note that a lot of what is being asked for was actually here relatively recently but seems to have gone out of business either for lack of support or inflated rents.
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Most of these stores disappeared within the last 10 to 12 years. Not terribly long in the life of a neighborhood.

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So my question I suppose is; What's different now ? It doesn't seem like the population has grown or changed so drastically in the past 10 years that these failed businesses can rise form the ashes like a Phoenix to a new life of success and profitability, or can they ?  

Aronan-

Thank you for reminding us of how many of the items on this wish list disappeared recently.  Some I had forgotten.  Some, like the hardware stores, I didn't even realize had disappeared. 

I actually think the population has changed DRASTICALLY in the past ten years.  A significant percentage of the residents of my building moved in over the past two-three years.  As have a lot of readers on this forum.  Native English speakers under the age of 65 and over the age of 16 used to be fairly rare.  Now they are much more common.  I was really in awe of the toddler happy hour at Novo's that happens every Sunday. (Toddler Happy Hour is now my FAVORITE weekly event in JH!!!)  But on my first visit to the very well-attended event, I noticed that no one in the group was speaking in Spanish to anyone else in the group.  Wow. 

I think if Cafe Greco (sp?) opened and ultimately closed  a few years before its time.  The comfy seating and overpriced coffee and excellent baked good and poetry and live chamber music during Sunday brunch were really great.  I bet today, the place would thrive.  When that wonderful bookstore on 37th closed, I felt like it was the end of an era for the neighborhood.  Now, a bookstore is high on everyone's wishlist.

Yeah, I think the population has really changed a lot.  And the businesses in the neighborhood will have to evolve to meet the changing needs.

700sf does not a theatre make.

A bookstore would need to do a very large amount of volume in sales to afford such a small space.
A deli/salad bar place would be great.
A cheese place would also be nice.
There's a great salumi/cheese bar in Boerum Hill called "Sample" that would fit in nicely. They do not need a commercial kitchen because all the food is "cured" and they have a great wine selection and outdoor seating. That would be a perfect addition to this neighborhood.

Actually, come to think of it, the entire Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill area has a similar scale of retail spaces to Jackson Heights. Any of those local shops could easily be transplanted here.

How about a nice antique furniture store? There's a lovely one on Smith Street owned by a Korean designer.


A bike shop would be great, too. I have to go to Manhattan or to Sunnyside for parts.

The way I see it:

 - A bike shop would encourage more cycling.
 - The more cyclists on the road, the less traffic there'd be, thus also abating an already serious problem.
 - Need I mention the health benefits?

And heck, the neighborhood is small enough that you can get everywhere on two wheels.

There are also a lot of children in the neighborhood, and what kid doesn't like a bike?