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Businesses Flock to Downtown Brooklyn as Growth Shifts from Manhattan to Outer Boroughs
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a seismic shift in how businesses operate and where they are located with the larger adoption of remote and hybrid work. One of the biggest economic shifts that has developed is the new growth of business in the boroughs outside of Manhattan.
The decentralizing of Manhattan is a topic the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, has been following closely over the past two and a half years. The Partnership for New York City tells WCBS 880 that Brooklyn is now the fastest growing borough driven by new technology startups.
“People really want to be in the center of things, but they also want the amenities of living in Brooklyn, which means access to the great residential communities,” said Regina Myer, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.
Myer noted Downtown Brooklyn is booming because after enjoying the convenience of remote work, people prefer to work in the same neighborhoods where they live. That has lifted local businesses.
“It used to be dominated by the courts, the Board of Education and shopping on Fulton Street,” she said. “And now, It’s still shopping on Fulton Street, but it’s also shopping at City Point, it’s also a lot of residential and a lot of people are coming to Downtown Brooklyn to live because it’s so easy to get around.”
Architectural and design firm FXCollaborative is erecting mixed-use buildings throughout Downtown Brooklyn that serve businesses and residents. It decided to move its own headquarters from Manhattan to One Willoughby Square, a mixed-use building FXCollaborative designed on Duffield Street.
“We became one of the first tenants in the building and took three floors,” said FXCollaborative senior partner Dan Kaplan. “So many of our architects and professional staff and overall staff live very close to Downtown Brooklyn.”
The architect’s philosophy for the post-pandemic city can be boiled down to what he calls a “15-minute community.”
“That means anything that you care about whether it’s working, living, playing, learning, culture, civic infrastructure, green space, recreation is all within 15 convenient minutes – healthcare – 15 convenient minutes from where you live,” said Kaplan.
FXCollaborative has designed office spaces that are open and airy.
FXCollaborative is erecting mixed-use buildings throughout downtown Brooklyn that serve businesses and residents. Photo credit FXCollaborative “Everybody thirsts for and loves a connection to nature, to daylight, to greenery, to the changing of the sky, to the changing of the seasons, and this notion of a building that feels like it’s connected to its greater environment is really what drives us and drives our design.”
Despite the growth in downtown Brooklyn as employees seek a hybrid work utopia, both Kaplan and Myer believe its proximity to Manhattan via the subway is beneficial because the island is still the engine that drives New York’s economy.
“The reports of the death of the office buildings are greatly exaggerated,” said Kaplan.
The FXCollaborative senior partner noted on the Small Business Spotlight that satellite offices were not widely utilized as predicted after 9/11.
“What happened was that was great, except for people started saying, ‘Well that’s good, but I’m going to be in the center, right? I’m not going to be in one of those satellites.’ So, there is this idea of enterprises needing to be close to each other and have an established culture, themselves.”
“That’s pretty obvious when people come here, they feel like it’s urban and it’s connected, but it’s also different from Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan. And I think that’s really to our advantage,” said Myer.
The fastest growing industries in the business district, according to the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership leader, are technology and media.
“We have companies like Gimlet Media, which are now part of the Spotify umbrella at 41 Flatbush,” Myer said. “Podcasting and a lot of tech and media is really comfortable not being in the center of things and being in Brooklyn. And that’s really been terrific to have companies with that kind of energy who are that forward thinking.”
See more about the growth of downtown Brooklyn and the beautiful new mixed-use buildings on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
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NYC Entertainment Like You’ve Never Experienced Before
Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC and NY2C Corp.
NEW YORK, NY — New Yorkers and tourists alike are always looking for something unique to explore in the city.
Alycia Powers and NY2C showcase some of the hottest entertainment venues on this edition of What’s Up New York.
NY2C’s flagship digital series “What’s Up New York” is produced and written by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
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How Long Island’s Adventureland Successfully Markets to Moms
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Amusement Parks have been on a roller coaster over the past two and a half years with COVID-19 halting rides. But, the business of fun has made a comeback this summer.
“We have bounced back,” said Adventureland president and co-owner Steve Gentile. “We kept a lot of those changes and it’s for the better.”
One of the biggest changes to the park’s business model, Gentile said on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, was charging admission instead of a pay-as-you-go model as it did previously.
“In the very beginning, it was a very big obstacle for us, but now they’re liking it more so because the people that are here inside the park want to be here,” he said.
Gentile said parents have told him Adventureland feels safer because people aren’t wandering into the park only to “hang out.”
Revenue has also increased this year compared to 2019.
“We’re giving you a first-class product here as any amusement park does. And, we’re trying to give you a first-class product – which we feel we are – we’re giving you a safe business – which I feel we are – and a happy place to enjoy with your kids.”
That experience is the selling point to mothers who make a majority of household purchasing decisions, according to several studies of consumer spending.
“The mom is the one that’s making their decision where to spend their entertainment dollar,” said Gentile. “We need to convince mom that we are delivering a safe product here for them and that they can entertain their kids in a safe environment.”
Adventureland opened in 1962. Gentile’s father Tony Gentile bought the park in 1979, which Steve took over when Tony died in 2013.
“I get to work with me, my brother, my three kids, my brother-in-law, two cousins, people that have been working with us for over 20 to 25, 30 years. I say sometimes how lucky we are that we can have such a family unit in the park.”
Being surrounded by family during the worst of the pandemic sustained Gentile’s spirits.
“My brother was speaking with somebody the other day about a recession and he nailed it on the head: ‘If we can get through a pandemic with not being open, I think Adventureland will handle a recession,” he said.
The amusement park owner told WCBS 880 that children’s “happy screams” emanating from the rides are an indication that he’s doing his job right.
“Screams, that tells us that we are succeeding in what we’re doing,” said Gentile. “That’s wonderful stuff that you hear kids screaming in our business that they’re having fun.”
Watch the full interview with Adventureland owner Steve Gentile on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Testing the Knowledge of Yankees Fans
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
Bronx, NY — How well-versed are New York Yankees fans about the most storied franchise in professional sports?
Tyler Tierno tests the knowledge of Yankees fans outside The Stadium for this edition of NY2C’s On The Call Trivia.
NY2C’s On The Call is executive produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
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Patriotism and Gluttony on Full Display in Coney Island (Behind-the-Scenes)
Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC and NY2C Corp.
Brooklyn, NY — Nothing shows freedom like Coney Island’s annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest!
Hall of Fame eater Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut downed 63 hot dogs and buns to earn his 15th Mustard Belt, defending his greatness against a protester with the sun beating down in the sweltering 4th of July heat.
James Dukas and Ben Manlapaz watched the gluttony unfold up close and take part in their own eating competition on the latest episode of NY2C’s What’s Up New York.
NY2C’s flagship digital series “What’s Up New York” is produced and written by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
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