Smith Street Is So Over, Right?

I just read a little article by The Brooklyn Paper's reporter Ariella Cohen entitled: CRYING IN THEIR BEER IN RED HOOK. It sure seems that businesses in Red Hook are having a tough time making a go of it. Some of the more established places are closing one by one. Too bad! I was hoping that some of the Brooklyn "tourists" and night revelers would make the trip over the Gowanus Expressway instead of congesting Smith Street every week-end evening. But Red Hook's lack of public transportation is a big drawback.
So instead, the F Train stations at Carroll and Bergen spew out wide-eyed hipsters from god-knows-where, eager to pay Manhattan prices for a meal and a drink.
Smith Street is still buzzing, especially last week-end when the sun was shining and there was no trace of humidity. But the formerly sleepy street, turned hip Restaurant-Row (phrase coined by real-estate developers) is not so hip any more. Due to greedy landlords, the first wave of little restaurants have closed and have been replaced by restaurateurs with deeper pockets as well as by national chains. American Apparel, Lucky Jeans, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are the big players now. Sure there are still some really cute boutiques along the street, but I always wonder how many $ 125 pillows and $30 candles they have to sell each week to cover the rent. What I believe we are seeing is the first wave of leases coming up for renewal . Ten years ago, Smith Street landlords were glad to get a paying commercial tenant to sign a lease. Now, they have smelled the money and are hiking up the rents. Some of these smaller restaurants will no doubt have a tough time coming up with the extra rent, even if they cram an additional 10 tables into their ( mostly illegal) back yards.
I have been living around the corner from Smith for 22 years. What has been happening over the last 10 years has been disheartening to say the very least. What started with wonderful businesses such as Marquet Pastries and The Refinery, two of the truly first pioneers on the street, quickly turned into a circus. And now, Smith's over-crowded sidewalks, drunk patrons bar-hopping as though they were on Bourbon Street is now being re-incarnated as a strip mall for big chains. Not good.
So is Smith Street passé? I would say it is well on its way. Manhattanites will no longer make the trip to Cool Smith if they find the same stores and eating-places as in their nabes. Maybe then, things will normalize and residents will get some peace and quiet. Now that would be a welcome development.