Dekalb -> Nostrand

Brooklyn Coop’s branch in Bedford-Stuyvesant initially opened in 2008 in a storefront across from the Marcy Houses at 750 Myrtle Avenue.  It was dark, next to a liquor store, barely enough room for 6 people at a time, but it was at least a start.  After the first 5 years it was clear we needed more space and found, with the help of an amazing real estate broker, a corner spot in a new building on Dekalb Avenue, corner of Throop.

That version of our Bed-Stuy branch — opened in July 2014 — has been a pride and joy for many years. Sunlight fills the lobby; a thriving green wall breathes fresh oxygen. The members have ample space to meet with staff, conduct transactions, join in for workshops or Annual Meetings. And, outside of one Chase Bank on Bedford Avenue, the credit union is the only financial institution for a mile in any direction.  So it is with great sadness that we are forced to leave.

Months before our 10-year lease was set to expire, we tried to engage the landlord in good-faith negotiations for renewal.  We knew the rent had to rise from the $7300 we were paying, but I thought we could stay below $10,000 per month.  That’s still a 30% hike.  But we got nowhere.  Ten years of paying the rent always on time, a lovely contribution to the building, convenience for other building tenants — but it didn’t matter. The landlord would not budge from the request for $12,000 minimum.  Crazy talk!!

Truly, Brooklyn Coop faces the same challenges as our members — the neighborhood changed, the landlord got greedy, now the rent is too high, and we have to move.  Everyone is disrupted, for no good reason.

The bright side is that 349 Nostrand Aveue is not too remote for Bed-Stuy residents.  Hopefully it is a bit more convenient to be closer to Fulton Street.  We do have a 15-year lease now, and a landlord that values our presence.  We’ll get sunlight still, and we’ll get our plants to thrive again, in time. Another year of changes, though inshallah, it will be for the better.