Case in point. One by one, parcels that the Q identified years ago as "soft spots," properties perfectly suited for developers, have been snapped up. Sometimes it's for the better. Take the enormous building rising where the old Caton Market was. That building will bring hundreds of truly affordable units to the area, with priorities to current residents. Since the large parcel was City owned, it was possible to create an all-affordable building with relatively little pushback.However, catty-corner/kitty-korner to that, the once dignified bank building (I opened an account when it was an HSBC back in 2003) will come down, along with the furniture store that was a Blockbuster Video when I first moved in. I spent oh-so-many hours wandering up and down the aisles, trying desperately to find something worthy of a watch-see. This was a time before Netflix, before Hulu, before Prime Video or anything on-demand. It's hard to remember what a big part of our lives these video stores became, once we all had VCR's or DVD players. My how the world changes and the wee ones grow. To those who wonder what we did before smartphones, I'd say "a lot looking for stuff to watch," because the modern world has become mostly about finding things, anythings, to deny the realities of the modern world.
Now, 815 Flatbush has gotten even bigger. So imagine this rendering but with considerably more apartments. Read all about it in the NY Yimby, of course. The corner in question, as currently mantled, below said smaller-than-it-will-be rendering.
4 comments:
Long prior to 2003, the building hadn't been subdivided, and the bank branch was much bigger. Tellers used to be where the video store was. It was criminal what happened when the dollar store took over. Even without the bigger space, it had a stately look to it, but not as much as when the branch was bigger, of course.
Q, it's a shame what's going on around the community. Check Winthrop Street, between Rogers and Bedford, and again Winthrop between New York and Nostrand, where two-family houses are being converted to four families with a rooftop. The beautiful Victorians are being taken down by developers, to be replaced by apartment buildings. It's so upsetting, and it saddens me that the community board is doing absolutely nothing, to reverse this trend. I'm so upset...we're not only losing our sense of community but the landscape is no longer the same; not cool.
No good memories of that old Blockbuster Video. A hundred copies of the latest action thriller and rom-com, slim pickin's everywhere else. And customer service to rival the DMV. More than once I walked out of there, either because I couldn't find anything worth watching or not wanting to wait 15 minutes in line to check out...
A shame that beautiful old bank building won't be saved. But good riddance to the eyesore known as Dollar Junk-tion...
I don't mind just as long as Empire Boulevard remains a pristine sanctuary for storage and fast food.
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