Street of Focus: Steinway Street between Broadway and 31st Ave
The economy is changing and the businesses on Steinway Street are being affected by it. Nowadays, most people buy their necessities online, whether it be clothing, home goods, electronics, or even food. We spoke a business owner on this part of the street, Marty of Marty’s Tuxedos, who emphasized this point by saying that customers often come in to get their measurements taken for a suit or tuxedo, but then leave, probably to buy it online. Although other parts of Steinway Street have gone through or are currently going through gentrification, this isn’t the case for between Broadway and 31st Avenue. While the other parts of Steinway Street have been filled with lounges and brunch spots, this part remains a mixture of small businesses and chain stores. However, like all other businesses, these small businesses have been affected by increased rent prices, a topic Marty also touched upon. He spoke about businesses constantly opening because they expect to be able to make a profit on the street, but after staying a few months, these businesses cannot afford to stay, and leave due to the high rent and the lack of business. The constant opening and closing of businesses is evident on the street when walking through it because there are at least 5 open storefronts, as well as a location that is under construction to become a Bath & Bodyworks.
While Steinway St & Broadway hasn’t gone through commercial gentrification, it has experienced residential gentrification, as can be seen by the changed demographics in the area compared to those in the past. The figures under the Demographic Data section show that this area has gone through residential gentrification. When looking at Figures 1 and 3, there is a notable increase in the proportion of the residents that are between the ages of 18-35 and an increase in the number of native born residents together with an increase in population, indicating that people are moving into Steinway St. Due to the influx of people, housing prices have gone up as well. In 2000, the median house value for census tract 155 was $255,400, while Queens as a whole had a median house value of $206,500. Since then the disparity has drastically increased; in 2015, the median house value for this census tract was $673,300 and the that of Queens was $450,300. More signs of residential gentrification include the change in education level of people over the age of 25, household income, and occupation. More residents have bachelor’s degrees or higher, and more have managerial and specialty occupations. Also, these residents reflect an increase in household income, with more 30% of the population making more than $100,000. Therefore, these demographics all indicate that the residents moving into Steinway St are young, affluent, white-collar workers.
Although there is no commercial gentrification yet on this part of the street, there has been residential gentrification as more established people/households are moving into Steinway Street. However, despite a lack of commercial gentrification, business owners, especially small business owners, still face the struggles of lack of business, competition with online shopping, and increasing rents, thereby representing the struggles faced by many business owners throughout New York City and throughout America.
Shabab Karim | Zainab Nathani | Mohamed Abid | Rasman Rayyan
