Carroll Gardens storeowners prepare to shutter doors

Rising rents are forcing some longtime Carroll Gardens businesses to relocate or permanently close. Storeowners blame rising property values and limited space for the dilemma facing many Smith Street

News 12 Staff

Feb 3, 2008, 6:36 PM

Updated 6,096 days ago

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Rising rents are forcing some longtime Carroll Gardens businesses to relocate or permanently close.
Storeowners blame rising property values and limited space for the dilemma facing many Smith Street stores. They also see gentrification, the process of renewal and a subsequent influx of middle-class or affluent people, as a problem.
"Our rent was going to be quadrupling in two months time," says John Hannon, of the nonprofit Aikido Dojo. "That's not something we can really do."
The clock is also ticking for the Brooklyn Camo store. "Money talks in these times," says Elsayed "Ned" Gaber, who has run the store for 10 years. "Nobody cares about anything but how much you get every month."
Gaber plans to close shop and reopen his store in about two months.