Brooklyn, New York: Your Two-Minute Retail Tour

THE NUMBERS

Of the five boroughs in New York City, Brooklyn is the most populous, with around 2.7 million residents per the 2020 United States Census. Despite pandemic-era population losses across each borough, a 2025 report from the NYC Department of City Planning Population Division notes that numbers are improving. According to the report, all five boroughs have experienced an uptick in population growth between July 2023 and July 2024, with Manhattan growing the fastest at 1.7 percent. Brooklyn experienced roughly 1 percent growth during that same period.

Nordstrom Local opened a new location in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood with a minimalist, clean look. PHOTO: BRIAN BILLS, NEW YORK

THE PULSE

Brooklyn’s growth has sparked a need for more housing. Addressing that need is Downtown Brooklyn, where more than 3700 new residential units (more than 1000 are of the affordable variety) were built in the first six months of this year. And there’s more where that came from: A quarterly report from the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership nonprofit says an additional 1183 units are expected to be completed before 2026, with thousands more in the pipeline.

PHOTO: BRIAN BILLS, NEW YORK

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THE HOT SPOTS

Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood has been a retail playground over the last few years as the likes of Chanel Beauty, Everlane, Parachute and Hermés have all opened outposts in the area. Most recently, Seattle-based department store retailer Nordstrom has amplified its existing NYC presence with a new 3000-square-foot Nordstrom Local shop along Williamsburg’s North 7th Street. The smaller format store boasts a service-oriented shopping experience, offering alterations, in-store pickup, returns, giftwrapping and more. “The design of this Nordstrom Local store has an intentional balance of warmth and modernity, reflecting the ease that the concept brings to the customer’s life – all while delivering an elevated experience,” says Melissa Gonzalez, Principal at Seattle-based architecture and design firm, MG2.

PHOTO: BRIAN BILLS, NEW YORK

OBSTACLES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Gentrification in formally working-class neighborhoods and high housing costs remain some of Brooklyn’s key obstacles. In 2023, the borough’s poverty rate was 19 percent, compared to a citywide 18.2 percent, according to New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. Despite the influx of new residential units, many longtime Brooklynites are being priced out. City- and statewide initiatives, such as funding for programs that create affordable options for different income levels, or property tax exemptions for developers that build or rehabilitate affordable housing, are a start.