The Revitalized Kings Theatre, How To Support Small Businesses & More Notes From The Flatbush Avenue BID’s Annual Meeting

The impact of the Kings Theatre

With the impending arrival of what could be hundreds of thousands of people flooding the area for shows at the Kings Theatre each year, big changes are on the horizon for small businesses on Flatbush Avenue – and theatre officials, as well as shop owners, are expecting the massive crowds to translate to a major influx of customers and likely sweeping economic change for the neighborhood, the officials and owners said at the Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District’s annual meeting last Thursday night.

Holding a little more than 3,000 seats, the Kings Theatre (1027 Flatbush Avenue), which, after nearly 40 years of sitting dormant, will reopen in February following a $93.9 million renovation of the architecturally stunning space, will be the largest theatre in Brooklyn and is expected to put on at least a couple hundred shows each year – including the inaugural performance by Motown legend Diana Ross.

In addition to the international and national performers expected to grace the stage, Matthew Wolf, executive director of the Kings Theatre, said at the BID’s gathering at Carver Federal Savings Bank (833 Flatbush Avenue) that, “hopefully the real benefits will be the benefits small business owners will see from the increased foot traffic.”

Saying “Flatbush now has the single most beautiful venue in New York City,” Wolf said the theatre, which originally opened at the tail end of the country’s Jazz Age in 1929 and shuttered in 1977 due to a lack of attendance, will include a wide variety of programming from Reggae acts and Calypso music to touring theatrical Broadway plays and comedy shows.

“It will not conflict with the programming mix at BAM or Barclays,” Wolf said.

The Kings Theatre executive director, as well as Councilman Mathieu Eugene, who attended the BID’s meeting, stressed the need to hire locally, with Wolf pointing out that neighbors can see what full-time and part-time jobs are available here.

“This can be an engine for economic development,” Wolf said. “It can bring in business to the neighborhood.”

Business owners told Wolf that they’d like to be able to advertise within the theatre, and Flatbush Avenue BID Executive Director Lauren Elvers Collins said BID officials will be speaking to the theatre about advertising possibilities, including a pamphlet that would include information about the surrounding shops and restaurants.

As for the theatre logistics, Wolf said they have access to about 700 parking spaces in the nearby Sears parking lot and the lot above Stop & Shop. And, after being asked the price ranges for tickets, Wolf said they will vary by show, but he did note that many of them shouldn’t be as expensive as the Diana Ross performance, which range from $80.50 to $126 (or $100 to $148 with fees included).

What shoppers & business owners want on Flatbush Avenue

During the meeting, Paula Crespo, a senior planner at the Pratt Center for Community Development, presented a “needs analysis” that she and other members of the center had conducted for the BID in an effort to identify what needs to happen on Flatbush Avenue to better support its local businesses. For the analysis, the center did a field survey of more than 300 establishments along the avenue, gave a business survey to about 100 businesses, and received surveys from 231 shoppers.

The survey found:

• There’s a “healthy mix of independent and chain stores,” Crespo said, and, when asked if they had a preference for chains or independent shops, 54 percent of shoppers said both/no preference and 39 percent said independent.

• The top five things people go to Flatbush Avenue for are: groceries; restaurants/take-out food; banks and financial services; drugstore/pharmacy; and adult clothing, shoes & apparel.

• 57 percent of shoppers said improved safety is very much needed, and 30 percent said it’s somewhat needed. (Detective Dominic Scotto from the 70th Precinct said businesses can call the precinct’s crime prevention officer at (718) 851-5504, and he’ll conduct a crime prevention survey, including checking camera and alarm systems, etc.)

• 37 percent of shoppers said public bathrooms are very much needed and 28 percent said they’re somewhat needed, while 23 percent said they’re not needed.

• 70 percent said improved cleanliness of sidewalks is very much needed and 24 percent said it’s somewhat needed.

• 61 percent of shoppers said improved appearance of stores is very much needed, while 27 percent said it’s somewhat needed.

• After-work and weekend activities that would keep people in the area are, by most to least popular: restaurants, bars, movie theaters and live music concerts, street fairs, family-friendly events, shopping, and coffee shops.

• For the business survey, 104 businesses were interviewed, with the majority of them seeming happy with where they are. When asked if they’d considered closing or relocating, 79 percent said no, 15 percent said yes and 6 percent they didn’t know.

The BID’s accomplishments and a look towards the future

Collins, the Flatbush Avenue BID’s executive director, briefed the crowd on the the accomplishments of the BID, which has 250 members and runs along Flatbush Avenue from Parkside Avenue to Cortelyou Road. (For those who don’t know, the city has 70 business improvement districts, which are public-private partnerships that help to pay for such services as supplemental sanitation, security, marketing, business development, and more.)

Some of the accomplishments Collins mentioned included:

• The Flatbush Avenue Street Fair drew thousands of people to the event that included kids rides, live music, a wide array of food, and more.

• After months of redesign, the BID launched the first phase of its new website in February, and the BID created a Facebook page in June.

• Designer John Stislow helped the BID create a Flatbush Avenue BID tote bag, 5,000 of which will be distributed to businesses in the spring of 2015.

• The BID worked with the Flatbush Caton Market to promote a Make Music NY concert at the market’s large sidewalk plaza. In addition to a Panamanian drum corps, the concert presented dance from Ballet Folklorico Nuestro Panama, a DJ, and live music from several groups.

• The BID’s supplemental sanitation team from Atlantic Maintenance works seven days a week, seven hours a day sweeping, picking up trash and removing snow and excess rain water. Councilman Eugene provided a $5,000 grant to offset the cost of this service.

• For more than two decades, the BID has hired security guards (Lester and Luis) to patrol the avenue.

Currently, one of the biggest challenges the BID faces is regrouping after the loss of the organization’s executive director of 22 years, Jack Katz, in November 2012. The Flatbush Development Corporation and board members filled in to manage the BID in the interim year, and Collins, who’s also the executive director of the Church Avenue BID, took over in December 2013. Still, “while the new executive director is familiar with the neighborhood and needs of our businesses through her three years spent managing the adjacent Church Avenue BID, there are still adjustments as the BID updates and streamline its procedures, evaluates which BID policies were effective and which could be replaced by even more beneficial program, and gathers information through a needs analysis conducted by the Pratt Center for Community Development to help guide the BID in the coming years,” the BID said in an annual report given out at last week’s meeting.

Additionally, Collins said the key priorities for the next year include:

• Recruiting additional board members.

• Filling store vacancies.

• Facilitating improvements to storefronts.

Collins also said all the street lights in the area covered by the BID are slated to be replaced by wrought iron lights. She noted too that the board and BID members have expressed an interest in the possibility of adding public toilets, benches and additional lighting in the neighborhood.