Dec 23, 2015 2 min read Business

Sheepshead Bay Among Top 10 Brooklyn Neighborhoods With The Most National Franchises

Macy's Backstage, a new discount clothing store, will open in the Loehmann's Seaport Plaza on September 2. — Macy’s Backstage, a new discount clothing store, opened in the Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza on September 2. (Photo: Alex Ellefson / Sheepshead Bites)

Brooklynites love to patronize their homegrown businesses. And indeed, it’s often the mom-and-pop shops that give a neighborhood its character. However, over the last decade, mega franchises like McDonald’s, Walgreens, and Dunkin Donuts have ramped up their presence in the borough, and throughout the city, according to research from the Center for an Urban Future.

According to the center’s latest edition of their annual State of the Chains report, Sheepshead Bay ranks among the top 10 neighborhoods with the greatest number of national franchises. The report lists two zip codes, 11235 and 11229, as having the tenth and eighth most retailers in Brooklyn.

Although Macy’s put up an outpost this year on Emmons Avenue, the report notes that the number of franchises is 11235 has fallen by four percent in 2015 — from 55 stores to 53. However, the number of chain businesses in neighboring 11229, which comprises the northern part of Sheepshead Bay as well as Gerritsen Beach, has increased by five percent — from 55 stores to 58.

Meanwhile zip code 11234 — covering Marine Park, Flatlands, Bergen Beach, and Mill Basin — came in second in Brooklyn and sixth in New York City for having the most name-brand stores. The report notes that the Kings Plaza shopping center is located in that zip code.

Overall, Brooklyn experienced a 2.6 percent increase this year in the number of name brands occupying storefronts, outpacing every other borough except the Bronx. However, the pace of national chains moving into Brooklyn is slowing compared to the years before — growth was 3.3 percent last year and 2.8 percent the year before.

And Brooklyn still has ways to go to catch up to Manhattan, which at 2,804 national retailers dwarves Brooklyn’s 1,600 stores.

The chains moving most aggressively this year to snap up spots in Brooklyn are Sprint (from 5 in 2014 to 25 in 2015), Dunkin Donuts (from 125 in 2014 to 135 in 2015), and Metro PCS (from 107 in 2014 to 117 in 2015).

A few big brands also appear to be pulling out of the borough, including Radio Shack, Bally Total Fitness, and McDonald’s, the report found.