When arts superstore Creativity (above) opened in Forest Hills, one arts supply store closed, and another, Art World (below) switched the bulk of its business to framing. This month Creativity went out of business, leaving no art supply stores in the neighborhood.

Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes just the same

These lyrics, written by folksinger Malvina Reynolds in the early 1960s, captured the darker side of suburban life.

This new housing may have been fabricated at fabulously low cost, but such "little boxes" lacked variety, and from the Gulf Stream waters to the New York Island "they all looked just the same."

Three decades later, we have learned to love our "little boxes," but have only begun to wrestle with their larger cousins, "big box stores."

Big boxes, or as they are more often called, megastores, have for some time been staples around the country. But fitting big boxes into the tangled urban landscape has been problematic for developers, city planners, and both their residential and commercial neighbors.

This is one of the reasons that the biggest of all big boxes, Wal-Mart, has steered clear of the New York metropolitan area.

Megastore contractors and developers say that big boxes provide a big business boost to the community, and sell large quantities of "ticky tacky" at discount prices. Megastore detractors on the other hand contend that the Home Depots and Targets of the world squeeze out the "little guy," infringe upon residents’ quality of life, and "all look just the same."

The stories of small, defenseless businesses being squashed by big bad megastores have been reported across the country. But in Queens, what has been given greater attention is their impact on quality of life, particularly in cases in which the big box store is placed on the bor-der of a residential neighborhood.

Battling Big Boxes

Concerned that in many cases developers are free under the city zoning laws to build big box stores without a community hearing, Queens Assemblyman Michael Cohen is putting forth legislation that would eliminate "as of right" construction for megastores in the outer boroughs.

Economists agrue that small grocers can still compete with mega-markets.

The problem, said Cohen, is that the zoning laws address function not scale. Stores such as Home Depot enjoy "as of right" status because they are hardware stores, even though they are extremely large hardware stores, open 24-hours a day.

"This bill would act to supercede ‘as of right’ status for stores over 10,000 square feet," said Cohen.

In effect, such megastores would have to go through the same land use procedures that are required of developments needing a variance.

While some are concerned that over-regulating may discourage companies from bringing their businesses to the area, Cohen disagrees. "This is not anti-business," he said. "We just want to ensure that communities have a say in the economic development of their neighborhoods. This will allow the community to consider the environmental impact, air pollution, noise pollution, traffic congestion, as well as the economic impact on mom and pop stores."

If this bill had been in effect, developments such as Queens’ Home Depots, Forest City Ratner’s controversial plan to build a multiplex in Forest Hills, and the Edwards Superstore on Grand Avenue in Maspeth would not have been allowed to proceed "as of right."

According to Cohen, he has support from a strong contingent of city Assembly members. But in order for the bill to be passed by the state legislature, because it specifically addresses the city, it will first have to first be looked at by the City Council.

The Charm of Mom and Pop

Some analysts credit Megastore development with improving the infrastructure of commercial strips like 20th Avenue in College Point.

Zoning issues aside, the principal criticism of megastores is that they maim Main Street, sending longtime staples in the neighborhood packing. Consumers themselves admit to a certain guilt when choosing low prices over the personal touch.

"It’s complicated," said contractor Dale Johnson, while purchasing plumbing supplies at the Home Depot on College Point Boulevard in Flushing. "I used to go to my neighborhood hardware store, but as long as you know what you are doing then you can’t do better than Home Depot’s prices."

But many hardware stores have managed to survive, even only a couple of miles from Home Depot’s domain.

"We’ve been open for 35 years," said Matthew Costello of Jere’s Hardware in Fresh Meadows. "Large stores try to take away customers with slightly cheaper prices, but consumers feel more welcome here; it’s easier to find help when explanations are needed. Customers know they’re not going to be stuck in long lines– that’s why contractors prefer us. True, we can’t match all their prices and selection, but you do the best with what you got."

Art Supply And Demand

Home Depot, described as a ‘Category Killer’ has been accused of putting mom and pop hardware stores out of business.

But the impact of the megastore on a neighborhood is often more complex than first meets the eye. The arrival of megastores often puts smaller stores out of business, but what happens when the megastore itself can’t cut it? Forest Hills residents, particularly those interested in arts and crafts, just found out.

Two years ago, when an arts superstore called Creativity opened on Austin Street next to Barnes and Noble, several longtime businesses in the neighborhood were effected.

Pinsky’s, an art supply and stationary store which was one of the oldest businesses on the block, closed. Art World, which is located only a couple of hundred feet from Creativity, stopped selling art supplies and shifted its business mainly to framing.

Last month, Creativity announced that it was going out of business. The coming and going of the megastore had left Austin Street with no art supply stores.

The owner of Art World said he was sad to see them go.

"We welcomed Creativity with open arms," said Joe Basile, owner of Art World. "It wound up that we didn’t lose the art supplies business–Creativity ended up giving us more framing business."

The problem, said Chris Collett, of the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce, was that Creativity may have been too big for its own good.

"They took too much space," he said. "It was such a big property that either they were going to make it big, or they were not going to make it all."

Creativity, which has two stores in Nassau county, plans to open a third store there as well.

Mega-Economics

Some analysts content that elected officials are not examining the more subtle effect that megastores have on communities, upsetting the symbiotic relationship between residential, commercial, and industrial zones.

According to a study called "The Big Squeeze," released this week by the Center for an Urban Future, the greatest obstacle to industry in the city is no longer high taxes, but higher rents. And part of the reason for the higher rents, explains the report, is that manufacturing zones have been converted for use by megastores, which subsequently raise the rents in the surrounding blocks.

"The city has used the outer boroughs as a dumping ground," said Jonathan Bowles, author of the study. "Industrial zoned land has been used for sex shops and big box superstores. These superstores often lead to speculation, and higher real estate prices. Around the Home Depot in Flushing, the rents have more than doubled."

The report found that the borough-wide vacancy rate for industrial space has shrunk by 30 percent since 1995 to 9.42 percent. And for firms looking for medium and large properties, the vacancy rate is barely three percent. This, according to Bowles, has led many businesses to move elsewhere.

"The main point we are trying to make is that there should be better planning as to where these stores are allowed to locate," said Bowles. "Industrial areas cannot survive a Home Depot."

"Often, the city fails to take into account things like infrastructure, as well as traffic problems," said Stavisky. Thanks to megastores, it has become very difficult to drive on 20th Avenue and Lefferts Place, which makes for a very difficult situation, especially with the rather large senior population. Due to these problems, we have requested a traffic study of Linden. The revenue brought in is welcome, but there are other factors that must be taken into account. This is definitely an issue the city should be revisiting," Stavisky added.