I took the above photo on one of the few days J+J Cafe (Fulton nr Waverly) was actually open. Yes, I was inside! And I bought a croissant and a coffee! The staff was nice, but the space was a bit shoddy.
Not that it matters now, as it closed down as soon as they put up their official sign…
I’d say until that skinny building is finished, there’s little use opening anything in that space. It’s almost completely invisible!
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18 Comments
I’ve never lived anywhere like Clinton Hill where places open for a day and close and nothing’s there for a year later. So many shops and restaurants have had this happen to them… who owns these buildings, and how is any money being made off not having tenants? J+J, Bodegas, the laundromat at Waverly, Subway? It doesn’t surprise me that experiments fail, just the insane downtime between them. Meanwhile, we can totally support three subpar Chinese places (one at Clinton, two at Washington) for how many years?
I agree — it perplexes me how there’s very little urgency to any of the projects on Fulton — who are the owners who seem unconcerned with having viable tenants? That skinny building next to J&J Cafe has been puttering along forever. And how is the corner of Clinton Ave supporting two bodegas? Perhaps the Bistro and the North Fork will begin to add life over at that intersection. The block between there and Waverly still has burned out street lights.
My wife and I live just a hop and not even a skip away on Waverly. Soon after J&J opened we went over there on a Saturday morning for breakfast. First the good – they had fantastic pastries that they claim to have made themselves. I’m talking moist-and-flaky-from-real-butter croissants. The bad – the food! It was a horrible meal of badly scrambled eggs, dried out frozen sausage patties, and tasteless white bread. I have had better meals from an Army mess hall. Trust me, I’m not exaggerating for effect. It was waaaaay bad. We figured they’d last 3 months, tops. It’s unfortunate because their pastries were really good. It would have been great to have a place to run to in the morning and grab a delicious croissant.
That stretch on Fulton St. from Vanderbilt to Franklin is the pits.
they got to be kidding me with that skinny building? Who is going to live in that?
Skinny people! LOL
couldnt resist.
And let’s not forget that the skinny building faces a methadone clinic. What a view! Methadone patients on the sidewalk all morning! That does wonders for real estate and local businesses.
Some of you come across as so elitist sometimes. Please keep in mind that everyone in CH is not on the same socioeconomic level. If those businesses are thriving(the chinese rest. and bodegas) then obviously a good segment of the community are partonizing them. It seems as if a business doesnt fit your needs or wants for that matter that some of you feel that there is no need for it. That’s a very selfish way of thinking.
Amen, clintonhillborn&bred!
People who live in a neighborhood have a right to an opinion about the business that open or close there. Being born and bred in Clinton Hill confers no special rights on you, sorry. And those Chinese places are skanky, as is the methadone clinic. Sorry if it offends you when someone points out the obvious. Do you actually like Fulton Street the way it is? Are are you just being sensitive?
and people like clintonhillbornandbred and brooklynzoo have a right to have an opinion about people like you and your opinions. calling someone elitist is just as much of an opinion as calling something skanky. and frankly, it’s an opinion i agree with. perhaps you would have a different point of view if you had less money to spend on eating on fulton? or if you or someone you know struggled with drug addiction or took methadone?
As one of the accused “elitists” here, I just wanted to mention that I don’t think anyone is looking to turn the neighborhood into Park Slope. It’s a matter of wanting the commercial establishments to reflect the diversity of the neighborhood is all. Where there is redundancy (Chinese food, bodegas, nail salons), it’d be great to have some new services (a bagel place, a fish market, a butcher). And where there is a boarded-up place, I’d love to see a thriving establishment.
I am sorry if my comment came across as uppity, I’m really just hoping to improve the quality of life on Fulton for everyone.
Not trying to be confrontational but I am interested in others’ views here. Does anyone actually like Fulton Street (let’s say between Vanderbilt and Bedford) the way it is? I appreciate not everyone is a ‘person like me’, to use your phrase. But are people here arguing the street would be better off left the way it is than developed to offer more retail options? We could argue about what those should be of course. But some seem to be campaigning for the status quo.
This Fulton St debate probably deserves its own diary. My $0.02 is that we know this is an emerging neighborhood. We’re not paying Slope or Heights rents because it’s not either of those nabes. I’d like to see more variety (and much more street lighting) on Fulton, but it will take time. Let’s hope for a good mix and do what we can to get there.
“We’re not paying Slope or Heights rents” — um, have you looked at prices lately? They are definitely on par with Park Slope.
Fifth Avenue, Smith Street, and Myrtle were (almost) as bad as Fulton ten years ago. The progress on Myrtle shows that commercial avenues in the neighborhood can support low and medium cost establishments as well as the more expensive places on Dekalb. I suspect when the condos in lower (North?) Prospect Heights get filled up, that will give additional incentives for merchants to try Fulton Street. All it would take is a few more quality establishments (whatever their price point) to change the vibe on Fulton. [And for the record I have not been in favor of shutting the clinic – just reducing its impact trhough additional economic development.)
what happened to goodwill on myrtle next to Castro’s? i went to go drop off clothes this weekend and the big red bins were gone! is there somewhere close by to drop off used clothing?
These ugly crap hole designed buildings as such going up have got to stop now that thier a re a few before the whole hool looks like some sort of frigin moon base!
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