James L.
Yelp
Gentrification, redevelopment, or (the trendy phrase du jour in urban planning circles) revitalization, potentially has very socially charged connotations. On the one hand, the infusion of money which inextricably also requires local political "partnerships" will typically bring new businesses plus residential housing to an area, and thus boosts economic activity with the new (usually higher income) tenants. Counterpoint, however, is that all this revitalization will inevitably result in some sort of "displacement" (i.e. removal) of preexisting populations of people and establishments.
When I was a kid and on the rare occasions that my dad's boss allowed him to drive the company van to the local Jetro (https://www.yelp.com/biz/jetro-brooklyn-2?osq=jetro) to get supplies for the restaurant, we would pass the old warehouses in Industry City along 278 (Gowanus Expressway) and they resembled a Soviet era landscape. From the freeway you could see all the windows had been smashed in, the facade were painting were graffiti, and let's just say it wasn't too safe to be anywhere near Industry City after dark.
Industry City was in deterioration even into the early-mid 2000's before current owners Belvedere Capital, Jamestown and Angelo Gordon & Co began a major redvelopment in the early 2010's. Opened in 2018, Japan Village is collection of shops, restaurants, and family friendly activities which has become the centerpiece of the "new" industry city.
Japan Village is fairly large and spread out across several buildings. The main building has a few eateries and a large-ish grocery store stocking hard to find and direct from Japan food items. I picked up some unique (Matcha and Ube) flavored Kit-Kats as well as authentic Made in Japan Panko bread crumbs.
During my visit, I didn't stop into any of the bars and restaurants, but most of them were doing a brisk business; and surprisingly, the prices weren't a complete rip-off. The highlight for me was stopping into the Daiso department store on the second floor. Having visited a few when I was in Tokyo, it was cool to peruse all of the kitschy items such a few Hello Kitty dolls and toys I got for my niece.
You could easily spend an afternoon here checking out all of the small boutiques, and there are plenty of IG worthy spots to snap a few pics before uploading to your social media platform of choice. The parking is nonexistent so best to either UBER it or take the R, N, or D trains to the 36th station and it's a short 5 min walk from there.
Sure, this place is a bit gimmicky, but I like it - and for long time Brooklynites who remember what this neighborhood used to be, I definitely prefer what's here now as opposed to allowing the area to decline.