Pitkin Avenue Brooklyn Meets Cutting Edge Design Pros @retaildesignforall Project


(PRESS RELEASE) Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) director Tiera Mack and BID’s consultant Jesse Gericke reached out to Tobias Harris W., RDI, and Alicia Proctor, RDI, seasoned retail design professionals and Retail Design Institute NY-Chapter board members, to develop a special retail district revitalization program.

The idea was to inspire and refresh this busy but sedate shopping district, focusing on the importance of fresh window displays for curb appeal and retail business.

Harris and Proctor created a platform for the BID to leverage their limited budget from the City of New York. Members of RDI NY joined in, providing design services, props, and communication materials, installation services, administration, and hospitality funds through months of generous effort.

The highlight was the installation day. Visual merchandising professional Nicole Monroe, along with Proctor and Harris, had the support of 20 students from the Fashion Institute of Technology. The result? The transformation turned heads, created smiles in the community, and will increase traffic to the stores.

• “For the past few years, J Liam Consulting has been assisting Pitkin Avenue BID business owners with improvements to commercial facades and storefronts along the Avenue. It was during these building restoration projects that we realized many business owners also needed assistance and guidance with visual merchandising. We are delighted to have teamed with Retail Design Institute NY and Pitkin Avenue BID on this pilot program and hope it will encourage other Pitkin Avenue businesses to make similar improvements to their retail display windows.” -Jesse Gericke, Principal, J Liam Consulting
• “ I almost gave up! This project gave me hope to continue. Thank You!” – Lisa Campbell, Pitkin Avenue Caribbean Bakery
• “For the first time, I practiced what I learned with every effort, and the result was very satisfying!” Steph Niedemeyer, FIT student
• Working on this project has been such a heart-warming nostalgic moment for me. Being from the neighborhood and taking part in the reason to see change, amazed both younger me and older me who is still trying to learn from every opportunity I get. – Karamalic Jimenez, FIT Student

With the success of this project, Harris and Proctor are working to influence and inspire other retail design professionals to expand #retaildesignforall projects to other NYC Business Improvement Districts and other underserved retail areas. #retaildesignforall is a success story where entrepreneurship, philanthropy, design education, retail democratization, inspiration, and sustainability meet, and strengthen the retail design world

About @retaildesignforall project

This philanthropic project started as an initiative of The Pitkin Avenue BID that was selected by the New York City Department of Small Business Services (NYC SBS) as a recipient of the Single District Small BID Support Grant, which funded the pilot “Re-Visualize Pitkin Program”. To communicate the program with the public and generate more activation further, the “Re-Visualize Pitkin Program” project renamed to @retaildesignforall that was led by PITKIN AVE BID directors Tiera Mack, consultant Jesse Gericke and retail professionals Tobias Harris W, RDI and Alicia Proctor, RDI. 

The BID selected five legacy stores with a proven record and has invested in the community by serving them for 30 – 40 years: Pitkin Caribbean Bakery, Eagle Hardware, Bina Pharmacy, Kid Stop, and Wonderful Shoes. The premise of the project is to create a model can be expanded to different underserved retail districts and can inspire others: retailers (big and small), vendors, and other retail design professionals and educators that retail design is for all, not just for the upper tier and mainstream customers and retailers. It can change a community and create business success.