Strong Bonds, Strong Local Business

Mitchell Szpicek
Mitchell Szpicek
Mitchell Szpicek

One of the most appealing aspects of living in Park Slope is the strong sense of community that exists here — not only among residents but also between residents and our local stores. From the dry cleaner who knows you when you walk in, to the restaurateur who greets you with a hug, to the shop owner who already knows your tastes from previous visits, these relationships between merchant and customer reinforce the connections we need and enjoy in our neighborhood.

Unfortunately, over the last few years, there has been a lot of turnover of stores along Fifth and Seventh Avenues. Neighborhood mainstays, from La Taqueria to Tonio’s Italian Restaurant, no longer exist. While several small, unique, independent stores have come to our neighborhood of late, such as Zito’s Sandwich Shoppe, we have seen many large, often homogeneous chain stores stake their spots as well — Petco, Cheeburger Cheeburger, a Dunkin Donuts on the way.

Large chain stores do bring business into our community and are a much more welcome sight than empty storefronts. Yet they often lack the small-town bonds and distinctive feel we appreciate in our neighborhood stores. Nevertheless, this kind of change appears to be the only constant in the ongoing evolution of our beloved Slope. So how do the owners of long-running commercial establishments, who have seen friends and competitors come and go, view these transformations?

Mitchell Szpicek of Little Things, the 34-year-old toy store on Seventh Avenue, has certainly noticed the many turnovers, and attributes them in part to our current tough economic conditions. Everything costs more, from rent to health insurance and electricity. As to whether such movement is positive or negative, Szpicek prefers the stability of constancy. These changes, he noted, may have a big impact to our community and to the connection between residents and storeowners.

“When you have a large number of banks, real estate offices, and chain stores, it generally raises rents for all, causing smaller independent businesses to eventually fold,” Szpicek said. “This creates less community/merchant programs and involvement, as these large tenants are caught up in bureaucratic red tape. They are unable to get involved with local merchant associations and grassroots community organizations. Some even end up declaring bankruptcy because their business models are not sustainable.”

Park Slopers often feel a sense of familial loss when a beloved mom-and-pop shop is replaced with a chain store. Cherished relationships with these vanished stores get lost in transition. Local merchants value strong community bonds as much as the patrons, and feel that a lack of connection can be harmful to the bottom line as well as to the community.

“For business and social reasons, community support is a big plus,” Szpicek added. “It helps foster good will, charity, and problem-solving. Many small-business merchants contribute to the community, through charitable giving, events, and sponsorships. The bank and chain-store profits generally go to shareholders and not back to the community.”

The economic turmoil that has caused a lot of retail turnover likely won’t subside any time soon, so merchants need to look for new ways to foster the ties between sellers and buyers. “That is what [the Park Slope] Chamber of Commerce is constantly striving for,” said Szpicek, who is one of that group’s organizers, “with such events as the Restaurant Tour, the SnowFlake Festival, and [sponsorship of] the Civic Council’s Halloween Parade.” If you want to try to block the winds of change and keep your favorite stores, you should stay connected and stay local. Residents can help by “supporting small businesses, attending meetings such as the Civic Council’s, and supporting the Fifth Avenue BID [Business Improvement District],” he added.

Storeowners are also doing their share to keep their businesses long-lasting fixtures in the community. Little Things promotes more community involvement via numerous events and sales. As Szpicek pointed out, “We had our second annual Lego Constructive Building contest recently, Beyblade Tournament in Prospect Park, as well as a Nano Block Playtime and Neighborhood Toy Store Day.” The popular Thomas The Tank Engine play table that sits in front of Little Things invites parents to stop and chat with their neighbors.

Businesses are also changing their approach to keep customers. Little Things, for example, has extended hours in the morning, holidays, and other periods of high traffic. Moreover, they have “concentrated on reducing expenses — merchant processing fees, shipping costs, etc. — in an effort to ensure profitability and that we retain our employees,” Szpicek said. “We have established a web presence on Facebook as well.”

There are dozens of reasons to want to live in Park Slope. It’s hard to deny that one of them is the sense of community fostered by knowing the person on the other side of the counter after months or years of patronage and service. Opportunities abound to help keep this symbiotic relationship among friends and neighbors.

— Spencer Moser is a member of the Civic Council.

from the December 2011 Civic News