Emily Asher Neiman works the room at an opening in September.
By TOM CHESEK
Veteran observers of Red Bank’s commercial streetscape know that the
phenomenon known as “the Retail Churn” goes into overdrive each January,
regardless of the general economic forecast.
Now, with the entire nation — and much of the world — in
uncharted economic seas, the phenomenon has returned to our local streets, with the already departed (Fameabilia, DesignFront, Nibus, ME) to the winding
down (New York Trend, Bellini Shoes), as well as those, like Bella
Mystique boutique, that promise to return at a new location.
Add Asher Neiman Gallery to that last category. According to proprietor Emily Asher Neiman, the
gallery will be relocating later this year — as will Emily and her
boyfriend, web design wiz Simon Abramson — to an as-yet-unspecified address in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.
Emily Asher Neiman discusses a Francis Mesaros painting in the window of her gallery last month.
Saturday will be the final day of business at 16 Monmouth Street.
While Asher Neiman says the past year has been “amazing,” it’s
actually been just 10 months since the 29-year-old St. Louis native moved
into the downtown storefront previously occupied by Artforms, the pioneering
art space operated in Red Bank for nearly 25 years by Charlotte Scherer — a
vanguard local dealer in contemporary art, and soon to be her stepmother.
What’s driving the move? Notice of a forthcoming rent increase on Monmouth Street caused her to take a hard look at her present needs, says Asher Neiman. Those needs turn out not to be so large.
“I honestly don’t need this big of a space,” she says, staking
out a spot on the floor of the airy and comfortably proportioned gallery that from the looks of it might accommodate two retail stores.
“I’ve been paying for a basement while I’ve been here, and since most of the
work here is consigned, I can return things to the artists rather than
having to store them.”
She chose Park Slope, she says, because it’s a place in which
“high-ticket items like artwork have some sell-ability, without the
neighborhood being overcrowded with competing businesses.
“I don’t want to go a ‘gallery row’,” she says, adding that the rents in
Park Slope are comparable in terms of square footage with what she’s seen in
Red Bank.
For the final days of walk-in business on Monmouth Street, Asher Neiman will
be offering discounts on all paintings, sculpture and handmade
jewelry currently featured on the walls and shelves of the gallery. It’s a
selection that includes works by New York painters Christie Scheele and
Jenny Nelson, Shore area artists Francis Mesaros and Jill Ricci, as well as
photographer George Tice, sculptor Gina Novendstern, and an array of jewelry
artisans. Price tags range from 15 to 30 percent below the appraised retail value
of the pieces, according to Asher Neiman.
While their collective tenure in Red Bank is drawing to a close, both
Abramson and Asher Neiman regard their time here as “a blast… it’s a real
walking town, where you’re always running into people you know, and there’s
a genuine exchange of warmth,” she says.
After the gallery closes its doors at 6p on Saturday evening, its website
will remain up and running, with periodic updates on the planned relocation
— and a planned makeover in which browsers can examine high-resolution
images of featured artworks in macro detail; “close enough to see the
textures of the painting surface.”
Asher Neiman also plans to present occasional shows in temporary spaces
around the New York metro area, and speculates that a Red Bank area show
could be a possibility prior to the opening in Brooklyn. Meantime,
inquiries can be directed to info@asherneimangallery.com.
well then, where is the over paid reiver center now, what are they ging to do about the 26th store tp close? And they got a pay increase???? Holy bat poop mayorman.
hey truthistruth, you appear not to get it yet… Rents went up. That is good for real estate owners who don’t mind the churn cause they've got plenty of banker friends willing to lend to plenty of potential retail clients. Retail clients get the loan, higher rents get paid, property appraisal values go up, and then local real estate taxes go up too based on those higher appraised values. The churning retail clients hang around as long as they can, then close, then file for bankruptcy, and then the bank simply writes off the loan. Lawyers work all sides and generally get paid (recall that pay can be favors too). The bank accumulates enough losses to get tax payer funded money in a bailout. This tasty scheme works rather well until the economy goes into the can and then everyone scrambles until either one of the thimbles or cars lands on “go directly to jail” or the time is right to start it all over again “pass go and collect $200”.
Emily and Simon,
It was a pleasure meeting and getting to know you. It's sad to hear you have to go, but I wish you all the best.
-Stephen
what I get is that one of the river centers functions is to entice new business into Red Bank, and from what truth is saying, and from what I saw this afternoon, nor much seems to be done in the way of keeping it let alone bringing it in. No one can force the property owners to lower the rent, but one would hope that the RC would talk to these people and explain that not only are they losing money (and not all can afford to), but there are making the shopping area quite unappealing.
what are you people talking about…. rent rent rent…..you can probably pay any rent you want if you have a good idea. There lies the problem very few people have the brains or balls to come up with a great idea that is unique. The last ones that did are doing great and not complaining , one is mark ecko and the other is the new puppy store , bark avenue . these are 2 places that came to town to do there own thing not to copy another boutique or eatery. now please enough with the high rents . first of all they are not anymore and second rent is not the problem STUPIDITY AND PIPE DREAMS ARE the end
enough already - get a grip - Bark Avenue is a puppy mill that sells over priced dogs - what happens to the animals if they don't sell, Mark Ecko is a national brand that is most likely wishing he didn't come to Red Bank - get a grip - Landlords pay into the River Center Coffers whether they have tenants or not. When was the last time the River center has done anything constructive or New? When they were first founded the River Center was suppose to last on as long as the Revitalization lasted - Well they last so far past the Revitalization that we need a new Revitalization "like a 10 pound steak passing through a 300 pound man - the steak looked great on the plate -, but now it's just a pile of $h!t" If you were in retail you would know that a fair rent and a vital town street are two of the more important elements in any store venture. I will say that Red bank was busy during the pre-Holiday season - but let's see what the nest 2 months bring. Oh and yeah get your pets from the ASCPA you'll have a better chance of getting a loving pet that isn't genetically engineered and didn't it cost you a thousand bucks and lives for more than 2 years. woof! woof!
hey woof woof ….you know about as much about retail as what that steak comes out of that 300 pd man SHIT. people love to blame the town for their failures, what about cocopari , funk and standard , or buena sera they always seeem busy for a decade. Ithink they have a secret weapon…. they actually stay open and run their places like its important they dont come and go like a hobby like a lot of other losers. actually zebu is another example of a great business man. Remember excuses breed failure so stop blaming river center it would be worse without them
Ok Coco Pari owns the building and most of the Block, Bueno Sera owns city hall - Funk and Standard is the the only true success in red bank a they still cater to the middle market and fought to have their rent stabilized. and Zebu Forno just look at the History of Manhattan Bagel and tell me how good of a business People they are. There are what 30 empty stores in Downtown Red Bank of the 120 or so - so that's 25% (almost equal to the 1976 recession) There are Prime locations like the corner of Mechanic & Broad Street empty! You have a viable- Vital Business leaving our town moving to Brooklyn (where things are happening - go there and see) - If you drive down the main street of a town like Woddbridge - you will see maybe one of 2 empty stores (out of 70 or so) So don't go protecting the River Center - they have not done their job - They were original created to help with the revitalization of this town and have out lived that job becoming a Quasi-political organization - that takes money from landlords/shop owners and does nothing in return - so if the Buck were to stop it should stop at the "River Center" and they should be the ones to blame - why have them at all otherwise.
River Center is about as usful as a match in
a house Fire!!!
They are over paid & under qualified.
Bring back Mary & Traci…
People ASSume that if they see a lot of people in an establishment that it means the store must be doing well. Go ask the truthful business owners in town and they will tell you that during the past 6 months, there has been “good” foot traffic but lots of "window shoppers" or "browsers". That category of shopper does not pay the rent, utility bills or the staff. Red Bank has been over-hyped partly because of a few businesses that were able to do well while the going was good. How does anyone really know that the above businesses mentioned above in this thread are doing so well as of today? Are you their accountant? For example, if you do your research on retailers that sell similar items to CCP like Saks or Neiman Marcus, you will find that they have NOT been doing well. The luxury goods market is hurting just like everything else.
Not all landlords in town are to blame, they have been fair in their asking price but some tried to get closer to what they heard the asking price per sq/ft at the Tiffany's location was and it has hurt other businesses due to sizeable rent increases.
It's probably unfair to place all the blame on the RB River Center because they have tried to hold events throughout the year to stimulate business in town (Sidewalk Sale, Saturday night live music during the summer, Red Bank Residents Day, Holiday Events, etc). Of course there are things that can be improved on, however right now, what's happening cannot be blamed on any one entity. Even if a few of the businesses that are perceived to be doing well, really are, if enough businesses shut down, they will not have that collective foot traffic any longer and could pull out also.
It’s also unfair to bash hard working people trying to make an honest living no matter whether it appears that they are a “copy” of a another business. Google is a search engine just like many that came before them: Yahoo, Alta Vista, etc. But now they are on top. Should there be only one clothing boutique, one Italian eatery & one coffee shop in town?? If the answer is yes then you must love monopolized scenarios where competitive pricing is stifled. Just because a business doesn’t survive does not mean the owner was “Stupid” or had “Pipe Dreams”. It is ignorance & stupidity that causes someone to paint such a large brush. There are so many factors that can cause a business to succeed or fail. Luck, Timing, Hard Work, and situations out of their control for better or worse, the list goes on. Plenty of “Smart” business owners have gone under due to outside forces. Take many of the suppliers to the Detroit automakers. They are going out of business thru no fault of their own.
When Wall Street sneezes, Main Street catches Pneumonia. What the residents of Red Bank, the River Center, Landlords & remaining businesses need to do is figure out what can be done collectively to avoid going back to the early 90’s. High vacancies, High Crime, High taxes…
In fact it may have already started, just today, a very nice lady who happens to own a solid eyewear business in town was the victim of a brazen break-in thru the front door of her business. Remember when you point a finger, there are 4 pointing right back at you, so you can either be part of the problem or part of the solution, the choice is yours…'Nuff said.
People ASSume that if they see a lot of people in an establishment that it means the store must be doing well. Go ask the truthful business owners in town and they will tell you that during the past 6 months, there has been “good” foot traffic but lots of "window shoppers" or "browsers". That category of shopper does not pay the rent, utility bills or the staff. Red Bank has been over-hyped partly because of a few businesses that were able to do well while the going was good. How does anyone really know that the above businesses mentioned above in this thread are doing so well as of today? Are you their accountant? For example, if you do your research on retailers that sell similar items to CCP like Saks or Neiman Marcus, you will find that they have NOT been doing well. The luxury goods market is hurting just like everything else.
Not all landlords in town are to blame, they have been fair in their asking price but some tried to get closer to what they heard the asking price per sq/ft at the Tiffany's location was and it has hurt other businesses due to sizeable rent increases.
It's probably unfair to place all the blame on the RB River Center because they have tried to hold events throughout the year to stimulate business in town (Sidewalk Sale, Saturday night live music during the summer, Red Bank Residents Day, Holiday Events, etc). Of course there are things that can be improved on, however right now, what's happening cannot be blamed on any one entity. Even if a few of the businesses that are perceived to be doing well, really are, if enough businesses shut down, they will not have that collective foot traffic any longer and could pull out also.
It’s also unfair to bash hard working people trying to make an honest living no matter whether it appears that they are a “copy” of a another business. Google is a search engine just like many that came before them: Yahoo, Alta Vista, etc. But now they are on top. Should there be only one clothing boutique, one Italian eatery & one coffee shop in town?? If the answer is yes then you must love monopolized scenarios where competitive pricing is stifled. Just because a business doesn’t survive does not mean the owner was “Stupid” or had “Pipe Dreams”. It is ignorance & stupidity that causes someone to paint such a large brush. There are so many factors that can cause a business to succeed or fail. Luck, Timing, Hard Work, and situations out of their control for better or worse, the list goes on. Plenty of “Smart” business owners have gone under due to outside forces. Take many of the suppliers to the Detroit automakers. They are going out of business thru no fault of their own.
When Wall Street sneezes, Main Street catches Pneumonia. What the residents of Red Bank, the River Center, Landlords & remaining businesses need to do is figure out what can be done collectively to avoid going back to the early 90’s.
In fact it may have already started, just today, a very nice lady who happens to own a solid eyewear business in town was the victim of a brazen break-in thru the front door of her business. 'Nuff said.
hey voice of reason…..you do make a lot of good points but you have to admit in this day and age its pretty hard to make it anywhere closing at 6 most days closed sundays and whenever else you friggin please…………..nuff said
"take the blame", you make another assumption that the business owners haven't tested opening later, on Sundays, etc., only to find out that the only ones that benefit from opening much later or additional days is the utility companies. If business owners felt that staying open until midnight benefited their particular business maybe they might. The other factor which can sometimes affect opening times is that some business owners also have children, families, etc. and may not be able to afford a large payroll with additional staff. What rule says that you must stay open from 10 AM - Midnight to be successful? Garmany is closed on Sundays but are we to make assumption that their establishment is will fail? In fact due to Blue laws, Bergen County businesses are never open on Sundays. Again, people make a lot of assumptions as if they were operating each and every one of these businesses themselves. What works for one may not work for the other. The bottom line is that collectively, everyone needs to come together to discuss ideas on home to improve the local situation rather than getting up on a soap box and pointing fingers….'Nuff Said
I love the conspiracy theories but simply tuning the tv to a financial network will explain the exodus. You do not start a business to fail and not all good ideas succeed though all bad ideas fail. The odds are not in the favor of starting a business. The small business owners took a risk and failed, but at least they tried. Maybe it was their business plan, the economy, the location, or their drive. Who knows aside from the owners themselves. I agree with Effin, there is no call to open more hours if it just increases your overhead with no measurable benefit. As far as rent goes, that is all supply and demand. Supply is up, demand will inevitably be low. The price will come down. It is not a good time to be a lessor or a lessee as you are taking on a lot more risks than any business model could predict. Red Bank is better served with high rent as it would show an attractive, growing local economy.
Very well put Joe
Big question is how much could the town save by closing the "rover Center" down?. maybe we could use that money to create a Kid's Center or something, maybe we could by an old boro building for a buck from the town and turn it into a community center. Hey there's a NEW idea!
the death kill for RB was the parking meeter ,they put them in asbury park in the 70's and the town folded in 2 years .hen took 30 years to come back .RB has now seen it's fate
you are 100% right at the peak of redbanks boom the town decided to put meters in raise the tickets from 16 to 38 dollars and hire an asshole from england to terrorize the shoppers and now they want to have an economic summit to figure out what went wrong their greed went wrong they should of looked at the long term picture
Ding! Ding! Ding! WE HAVE A WINNER!! take the blame, c'mon down you have just recieved a new tax bill to pay for all those meters.
If I remember correctly, didn't John Curley voice his concern over these parking fees and then was promptly laughed at by the ex mayor and council, and out of curiosity, just how much did this Scottish guru cost the borough before he left under a cloud of bad things shall we say?
Just got reading all the responses to this post. First off, I must make a comment to "truthistruth" comment about Bark Avenue who came into town to do their own thing and didn't copy any other boutiques. When is selling puppy milled dogs in a store a "unique" idea when the neighboring town of Middletown is crawling with at least 2 of them (selling puppies)? Are you serious? If my memory serves me correctly, there has been a cute pet boutique in town for many years now, which I have heard many good things about. Because they don't sell puppy mill puppies but promote rescue instead, Bark Avenue didn't copy them? Please!
With regards to "impeach menna" - so right! The parking meters have destroyed this town. The politicans really thought once the town became up and coming, they were going to generate alot of extra revenue (which they did) but with all things, it comes with a cost and unfortunately, it has put a big damper on the businesses there. In addition, the landlords, especially on lower Broad Street are very greedy of what I hear! To pay thousands more a month to be on Broad Street - are these people serious? No wonder why 1/2 of Broad is becoming vacant. People can't enjoy a leisurely day in Red Bank without running back to their cars because their parking meter is running out. Red Bank is going to become "dead bank" again if the politicans & greedy landords don't wake up and see how their money sucking efforts are ruining a nice town.
There are many issues that have come together to cause the current downtown Red Bank economic failure. Fingers can be pointed everywhere- Federal Government, State Government, Boro Government, Wall Street, River Center, Boro Merchants, etc. The finger pointing is only productive if it also points to a solution to the problem- which doesn't seem to be happening. However, the root of the downtown economic failure is easy to recognize- insufficient customer counts. Increase customer counts and the $40-$50/sq. ft. rents won't sting so badly and less stores will be vacant. The question then becomes- What can be done to attract customers to the downtown? Hundreds of ideas can be thrown into the mix- some will float while others sink. What is easy to recognize is a major failure that other posters have highlighted- the very unfriendly atmosphere created by the implementation of the parking meters and the excessive fines that are imposed for violations. If Red Bank wants to attract visitors/customers, a welcoming environment needs to be created and maintained. Slapping a $38 ticket on a customer's windshield for overtime parking is NOT customer-friendly. It is my understanding that the meters were implemented in order to increase the parking inventory (jargon for preventing downtown employees/downtown residents/Red Bank Catholic students from treating street and municipal lot spaces as private spaces by filling them all-day). I agree with the initiative of creating parking space turnover, but the goal can just as easily be reached with a $10 fine (which is easier for a level-headed person to accept as opposed to a $38 fine which truly does seem to be excessive and gives customers the feeling that the Boro is attempting to take advantage of them).
Let's decrease the fines to a reasonable level and not chase away the Boro residents and other customers who have come into the downtown to shop and assist in helping our local economy thrive.