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• I can hear the chorus of Whole Foods, Crate & Barrell, etc. starting….

  Posted by FoHi110
  on February 1st, 2008 at 9:56 am

• A week or so ago, while googling area real estate, I found a listing for the Ethan Allen store putting it on the block for about $7 million, on loopnet. Said the store would be delivered empty. When I tried to go straight from loopnet, not through google, I could not get to the listing without having some sort of premium membership…since I could not tell if it was a new listing or an old one that had since been pulled off the market, I didn’t say anything, as I did not want to start a wild rumor. Guess it’s true after all.

  It would be interesting if a big retailer took the plunge and came to the north side of the Boulevard, but I doubt it will happen. Would certainly make things more lively!

  Posted by ShaynaMadel
  on February 1st, 2008 at 10:53 am

• Actually, I’ve bought stuff there and found it always pretty well occupied, although I don’t know how many bought there. If a store such as EA is closing, I fear that it may not bode well for other high end retailers thinking about the area. EA is a quality furniture chain, and caters to those who probably shop at Crate and Barrel and Williams Sonoma. If EA is losing their clientele, why would the others come here?

  This ain’t good kiddies! Sign of the times and the economy contracting? Probably.

  Posted by kgresident
  on February 1st, 2008 at 11:55 am

• Ethan Allen is apparently closing 12 stores, but is opening 8, so maybe it’s not as bad as it would seem at first glance. The second article below pretty much says that they are getting away from just selling furniture and expanding in the design area, so they are consolidating operations.

  http://www.theretailpeople.net.....?story=553

  http://www.ddimagazine.com/dis.....016a91727e

  Posted by ShaynaMadel
  on February 1st, 2008 at 12:54 pm

• This side of Queens Boulevard is dead. Plenty of retail available in the Pinnacle and next door Forester buildings which are still for rent.

  Now Ethan Allen will be vacant and vacated. I don’t expect anything much to come into these locations. You had retail like furniture, mattress stores, and even home mortgage facilities.

  The area on the Northside of Queens Blvd is dormant right now. The SouthSide of Queens Blvd is in transistion.

  Northside will have lots of vacancy for commercial for awhile yet.

  Posted by EthanAllem
  on February 1st, 2008 at 2:14 pm

• Hi AJ!

  Posted by me
  on February 1st, 2008 at 2:32 pm

• Why is change on the north side considered dormancy, but on the south side considered transition? Ethan Allen announced their decision only last month. Maybe if someone made an effort, some larger “destination” stores might consider the north side. Just a thought.

  And yeah, welcome back, AJ.

  Posted by ShaynaMadel
  on February 1st, 2008 at 2:45 pm

• How big is the Ethan Allen facility? You need alot of square feet to house a Whole Foods.

  Alot of empty properties exist today in Forest Hills and there have been no takers due to rents being too high to maintain profitability in those locations.

  Posted by WholeFoods
  on February 1st, 2008 at 3:11 pm

• Hey AJ, thought you could hide? Not with that writing style! Good to see you’re back out and about!

  Posted by KGResident
  on February 1st, 2008 at 4:00 pm

• Ethan Allen is about 9,000 square feet.

  http://www.loopnet.com/New-Yor.....Code=18400

  The inability of businesses to maintain profitability could not possibly have been due to something other than rent, could it?

  Posted by ShaynaMadel
  on February 1st, 2008 at 4:45 pm

• that was a bad location for a furniture retailer, i agree its a blow for the neighborhood…

  Posted by donnie
  on February 1st, 2008 at 8:43 pm

• when i walked by last weekend the lamp originally for $650 is now ONLY $450. i will still look but unlikelywill find anything as good as their warehouse sales when things are really reasonable.

  Posted by al
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 12:15 am

• Hmmm, can’t put my finger on it, but I know I’ve seen that writing style somewhere before.

  Posted by flocat
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 12:55 am

• I think that whatever store that is thinking about the Ethan Allen location will note that there’s only a single local subway line, there’s no parking (unless customers find a spot on the street or pay for a garage) and that there’s virtually no foot traffic on that block. Foot traffic, in my opinion, is the big one. The store will then ask whether the potentially higher rent in the old Mandee store worth the cost for the added subway lines and guaranteed foot traffic? I think that they’ll say yes.

  Two things I want to see is what will be going up at the construction site that used to be the hardware store on Austin and what kind of spaces wil be available at the project to be built where Rouge used to be. Will they allow for restaurants? Will they allow for large spaces that might also compete with the Mandee location?

  Posted by Jon Parker
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 1:48 pm

• Staubach will be awesome. It is a GREAT team. In 2007 in July, Staubach Capital Markets Executive Joins Montara Capital Partners’ Advisory Board.

  Between Jim Whelan at Muss Development and the involvement of Staubach with Montara Capital, the South Side of Forest Hills will be really awesome and I have no doubt the strip will be much improved. The people involved are all of the highest caliber. It will take some time for all this change to take place.

  While Forest Hills is no Manhattan, it will be going through improvements making it a really improved stepping point for those who can’t afford Manhattan at this time or for people who want Forest Hills due to its location.

  The Ethan Allen space on the North side has too much competition and retailers in the area have had very short lifespans. You used to have a video store in the Forester which went out of business and became a Mattress place which also went out of business. Pinnacle had mortgage places and the like but they went under due to the mortgage crisis right now.

  Hard to say what the Ethan Allen space will become. Next door became a Child Advocacy center.

  Ethan Allen is a nice retail building custom made for Ethan Allen in an otherwise poor location with lots of empty retail in the area.

  Posted by EthanAllen
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm

• The southside is stalled, IMHO. Everywhere else would see a steady rise is values as developers find it easier to obtain credit nowadays.

  Posted by aj023
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 5:37 pm

• Welcome back AJ023!

  Posted by WelcomeBackAJ
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 5:39 pm

• AJ023: Credit is not easier to obtain. Creditors have tightened lending standards in the wake of the economic situation going on right now.

  South side is getting developed with big money firms. Muss AND Staubach have lots of capital in their pockets and the willpower to get things done.

  The southside has not seen any stalling at all. Old homes knocked down and more old homes on the market. Negotiations in place. Lots of development all over in talks or occuring. MOCA is coming in (http://www.mocausagroup.com)

  The North side is stalled. South Side is going strong with projects underway that are being worked on. Shoddy retailers out while new ones come in.

  Posted by EasyCredit
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 5:44 pm

• What would you like to see at the Ethan Allen Location? I am a developer who is looking to acquire the property if there is enough business to support my customers in this location.

  So tell me: What do you want to see at this location?

  Posted by Ethan Allen
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 5:54 pm

• About 15 years ago, my husband and I furnished our place with furniture from Ethan Allen (New Jersey). We thought it was expensive back then, but on a trip to the FH location about a year ago, we discovered that the prices had gotten exhorbitantly high. We had plans to upgrade to a king size mattress from our original queen bed frame. Unfortunately, we discovered that the price on the bed frame alone would run us close to $5000, not including mattress or box spring. Mind you, we ended up just purchasing a new queen mattress instead. Having said this, I have to admit that the quality of furniture you get for the money is second to none. Our Georgian Court bedroom furniture is solid cherry and looks brand spanking new. The dressers have solid brass accents that never changed color and are still firmly attached. The detail and quality is excellent. I wish we could have afforded the king bed.

  Posted by jhdomster
  on February 2nd, 2008 at 10:13 pm

• The video store in the Forester went out due to a decline in the video rental business thanks to increased DVD sales, increased availability to rent directly from cable companies and companies like Netflix. And by the way, it was there for at least 10 years, certainly not a short lifespan.

  The mattress store in the Forester went out when the entire company went bankrupt.

  Neither of these business failures had to do with the location of these businesses, but rather the financial condition of the specific businesses.

  As to there not being any parking and there only being one subway line near the Ethan Allen space, it may not make all that much difference. There is no parking at PC Richard nor at Sam Ash and only one subway line close to both stores, and both have been around for years. (I think that at least PC Richard covers an hour or two of parking at the Pinnacle garage)

  Posted by ShaynaMadel
  on February 3rd, 2008 at 12:15 am

• A miniature Whole Foods would be a welcoming presence, Mr. Developer.

  Posted by anon
  on February 3rd, 2008 at 10:14 pm

• It seems the area south of Queens Blvd has stalled, and will not see new development.
  Also, the residents from both existing buildings are protesting, and would like to keep existing retail in place.

  Reminder, if you have not already done so, please try to get your 2009 campaign contributions in by Saturday. There will now be strict limits on how much you can contribute. This would affect your access to land use and tax abatements, so don’t delay.

  Posted by aj023
  on February 4th, 2008 at 9:29 am

• Hey AJ, I thought you said you weren’t in the business? The reminder about getting your contributions in says to me that you are a developer who doesn’t want the land use and 421-a abatement laws to change. Interesting.

  To those who might not know, they are tightening the abatements laws which they should. Developers these days do not need tax abatements to build. These are hold overs from the 70’s and 80’s and the city had to incentivize building. The abatements are supposed to go to those who agree to do a percentage to “affordable” housing. Instead it goes to buildings who sell for multiple millions of dollars and those folks who are buying certainly don’t need abatements. Instead, it robs the city coffers of millions, if not billions, of dollars that we could all use. This is corporate welfare at its most extreme.

  Posted by KGResident
  on February 4th, 2008 at 11:50 am

• I think that Sam Ash and PC Richard succeed for two very different reasons. First, Sam Ash is a specialty store that doesn’t really have much in the way of competition. People who are serious about their art will always go out of their way for the best. And PC Richard sells electronics, which are something everyone has lots of and the technology moves so fast that people are always upgrading. So locals might be enough to support them. In fact, locals are probably the only customers they have, as there are I think four PCRs on QB alone. As for Ethan Allen. It’s a loss to the community, especially for those of us who want to keep its upscale flavor despite Value Depot. But I think the location was a poor choice. Clearly the location mattered, because they’re choosing to close that specific store instead of another one. Had it been doing very well, it would have been saved.

  PS- Amici’s Pizza on Austin is for sale through ReMax. That location is cursed.

  Posted by Jon Parker
  on February 4th, 2008 at 4:50 pm

• PC Richard is a neighborhood business, that sells as much in the way of small appliances as the larger ticket items. It is a business where there is constant upgrades and turnover and will deliver larger items and the area in front is easy for pickup. It lives off the the FH/KH/KGH area, even some the landlords use it for appliance purchases, in a densely populated area there is a constant stream of purchases. Furniture is typically a large ticket item and is purchased in frequently and a store needs to draw from a much larger area. Parking is more critical and it needs to cluster with other stores drawing the same type of customer. It’s a shame they have nice furniture, but if it had on site parking it might have had a better chance.

  Posted by TALBOTRESIDENT
  on February 5th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

• AJ023 says: “Reminder, if you have not already done so, please try to get your 2009 campaign contributions in by Saturday. There will now be strict limits on how much you can contribute. This would affect your access to land use and tax abatements, so don’t delay.”

  Thanks for notifying us on how to further degrade our neighborhoods, disgraceful character AJ023! Campaign contributions, specifically large sums from developers are equivalent to bribes.

  Posted by Millie
  on February 6th, 2008 at 12:59 am

• How about a big, free, municipal garage?

  Most suburban areas seem to have municipal garages located in and around their business district, so what’s the problem here? In recent visits to Boston, and Northampton, Mass, and Denver, Co. I found my shopping experience greatly enhanced by safe, free, and available parking. The same goes for the shopping areas of northern New Jersey, yah, even dullard New Jersey!

  There is no question that our neighborhoods are becoming denser by the day, big one and two family houses are being converted to multiple housing. Both private and the city are building more residential units, and we have also experienced the enlarging of various shopping centers in and around Queens Blvd.

  Unfortunately nobody has given any real thought to the growing traffic congestion in our neighborhood, overcrowded side streets, and the lack of inexpensive parking facilities for both residents and shoppers.

  We need at least three (free or low cost) municipal garages, one each in Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens. How long will it take the local politicos to “wake up and smell the coffee”?

  Posted by GETMEOUTTAHERE
  on February 20th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

• ECHO!!! echo… echo.. echo… IS ANYBODY HERE? is anybody here… is anybody here… is anybody here…

  Posted by Jon Parker
  on February 28th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

• I’m still here! But things have been incredibly crazy. The forums are still open!

  Posted by Steve
  on February 28th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

• Does anyone have the actual address for the old ethan allen store on Queens Blvdor know who owns it.

  Posted by Marc
  on July 7th, 2008 at 12:06 pm

• It’s 112-33 Queens Boulevard. If you want to drop by, there are signs in the window with contact information, I believe.

  Posted by Steve
  on July 7th, 2008 at 12:21 pm

• Property is worthless.

  Posted by EthanAllen
  on July 7th, 2008 at 3:16 pm

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