Tompkins Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant has long been a haven for Black- and women-owned business. But the economic success of the shops on the quaint but vibrant commercial strip is also leading to some headaches, changing the feel of one of Brooklyn's important Black cultural centers.
Since 2011, Tompkins Avenue, between Monroe and Halsey Streets, has been home to many diverse businesses, including Bed-Vyne Brew, Brown Butter Craft Bar & Kitchen, Brooklyn Kettle/Narrative, Life Wellness Center, Make Manifest, Peace & Riot, Peaches Hothouse and Sincerely, Tommy. The avenue was dubbed "Black Girl Magic Street" after the sizable number of Black woman-owned stores.
The charming environment of the shops, restaurants, and bars helped drive an influx of new residents to the area, but this has also led to some tension on what is tolerated at night and on the weekend, merchants and residents say.
It all started with the proliferation of the city's Open Streets program, where city streets are blocked off from vehicular traffic on the weekend, during the pandemic.
The nonprofit Bridge Street Development Corporation started the Tompkins Avenue Merchants Association (TAMA) in 2009 to support the shops on the corridor and helped create the TAMA Sunday block party in 2010. It started as an occasional family-friendly event, and featured kids' activities, yoga sessions on the street and fashion shows with neighborhood youth as models.
Yet trouble was afoot when the occasional outdoor festival turned into TAMA Fest, which morphed from a small, neighborhood event to a bacchanal in 2021. As social media posts depicted young, beautiful Black Brooklynites partying in the the sun with drinks and DJs, the block party became a destination for people far beyond Bed-Stuy.
The growth of the block party created a flood of complaints about litter, double parking, late-night loudness and public urination. TAMA, which declined to comment for the story, diligently tried to wrestle back control of the event, but the genie was out of the bottle.
At the same time, a group of neighbors (some living in multi-million-dollar brownstones nearby), began filing quality-of-life complaints against TAMA Open Streets for excessive noise, public urination and double-parked cars.
Bed Vyne Brew Bar, a popular craft beer bar and community hub located at the corner of Tompkins Avenue and Putnam Street, said it had to temporarily shut down as it felt like it was "targeted" by various city agencies.
"Due to unprecedented pressure and targeting by the 79th Precinct, we are forced to close from next Monday, 1/13 until April. Rest assured, this is a pause as we regroup to deal with these pressures and focus on bringing #BREW back, full strength, to the community space it has always been. The targeting began in May, and we've tried to work in good faith with the Precinct even when they have not. They've been relentless in their targeting of our small community-focused business, sending almost every city agency to our doors weekly," a Jan. 8 Instagram post read.
The owners of Bed Vyne Brew declined to comment.
Meanwhile, commercial rents keep rising. Currently, the rent for a 1,500-square-foot space at 320 Tompkins Avenue is listed as $9,375 per month. Merchants told BK Reader the rent for similar spaces was in the $3,000 per month range just a year or two ago.
Miko Uno , the owner of Kyo, a cafe at 326 Tompkins Ave., lives on the block and specifically opened her business on Tompkins Avenue for the culture and foot traffic.
“Gentrification can be called many evils, but the financial burden it brings impacts commercial and residential renters alike," Uno said.
Her residential landlord tried to hike her rent by $1,900 per month last year, but she managed to negotiate that down to a $700 hike per month. Miko said the situation was stressful and frustrating and said many landlords "only think about money, with no regard for history or culture.”
Z’z Wine & Beer recently opened at 491 Tompkins Avenue. The space features sleek lines, soft lighting, and natural wood, with a baby grand piano as its centerpiece.
The bar’s opening night on Jan. 18 brought out a vibrant group of well-wishers, including State Representative Stefani Zinerman and State Senator Jabari Brisport. During the ribbon cutting, Dr. Zena Glover, the owner, thanked God and the community, as “the journey [to open] is not swift and it is not easy.”
Nicole Greaves, a resident who attended the opening, said she was happy to see another business open in the area.
"As a longtime Bed-Stuy resident, I’m thrilled to see new Black-owned small businesses contributing to the vibrancy of our community," she said.
Some residents, who asked to remain anonymous, feared that the vibrancy brought to Tompkins Avenue by Black residents and business owners will start to disappear, similar to what has been seen on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, a traditionally Black commercial corridor that has undergone a stark transformation since the early 2000s.
Chadon Charles, co-owner of Drink Lounge, a Black-owned cocktail bar on Franklin Avenue, doubted that gentrification would come to Tompkins as fast as it did on Franklin Avenue, since the latter strip is closer to major thoroughfares like Atlantic Avenue and Eastern Parkway.
Meanwhile, Bridge Street Development Corporation presented a proposal for a Franklin Avenue Open Streets at a recent Community Board 8 subcommittee meeting. It would run from St. Marks Avenue to Eastern Parkway, with Bridge Street partnering with Franklin Avenue Merchants twice a month on Saturdays, from 12:00pm-6:00pm, from June to October, to bring outdoor fun to the Crown Heights community.
