I would love an express downtown.

Sounds good to me.

In the meantime, I haven't found that taking a bus, biking or even walking a few miles to the stores in Hamden, or Foxon Road in New Haven, to be particularly difficult.

Note that for basics, you may want to consider American Apparel. Though I haven't shopped there or looked at the prices lately, it is one of the few chain stores in the entire United States that sells union-made clothing. I know that many people who make T-shirts use their products as a base. For some people, the fact that they offer union-made clothing from the United States is worth the couple extra dollars.

i think this issue connects with two larger issues in new haven:

1. aggressive driving + inefficient mass transit = unsafe conditions for pedestrians. this amounts to a hostile and unwelcoming environment for people downtown. we need to drastically change the level of safety for pedestrians to foster healthier amounts of foot traffic to attract businesses to empty storefronts. streets with streams of speeding traffic cut blocks off from each other, and make city blocks feel longer and more tiring to commute via foot (and bike).

2. yale properties owns more than a handful of properties in prime locations, but chooses to leave them empty for sometimes decades at a time while they wait for a high enough caliber of retail that fits the yale image.

i agree more needs to be done by the city of new haven's economic development dept. to bring businesses to the city that its residents can afford for day to day items, instead of just high end retail to cater to out of town visitors or the temporary residents with more expendable income.

i support businesses downtown when i can afford to, but i'd like to have more options as well. i don't agree that we need to buy into the thought that you have to leave downtown to aquire what you need. this only enables the highly destructive concept of gigantic box stores that many need to burn fossil fuels to get to.

i forgot to mention a new favorite quote of mine: “A city can be friendly to people or it can be friendly to cars, but it can’t be both” -Enrique Peñalosa

I'm with you on this, Juli. I'd rather go into the city and browse stores on foot than drive out to strip malls in Hamden. It would be nice to get the fresh air while on foot, feel I'm supporting downtown commerce, and see the area become vital and vibrant again.

Maybe we do need a clothing co-op too! Then we could pick union-backed clothing made in the US type products to sell in our store, just for Mark.

It's quite ridiculous that there are no reasonable clothes stores in New Haven. What's with this?? There are so many expensive places downtown! Can't there be at least one normal clothes store? With "mixed development" projects including retail, we should try attracting large retailers who can use a large first/second floor section in the downtown area. Don't attract people "away" from New Haven towards the Post Road, get them TO New Haven by putting the stores in Orange and Milford in downtown New Haven!

There are so many empty retail spots in downtown, too. As JJ pointed out, H&M and Old Navy would be great! Get more in here! Invite them in, give them welcoming deals for properties. At the moment, downtown is mostly for the low class and the high class, what about the middle class?

H&M would be a perfect fit. Good points, Citizen.

It's great to see that others share my concerns. To clarify, I'm not necessarily looking for places to browse- I'd like to be able to dash off a few blocks away to shop for necessary items on my lunch break or after work before heading home. Not unreasonable, you'd think, considering this is the 2nd largest city in CT. But I think the fact is, Yale and the city have created a "browsing zone." You can stop by any number of stores to recreationally shop, but there's nowhere to go to stock up on things you need. This is a problem!

JJ, it does sound like a decent department store would fit the bill. Of course, there used to be a fantastic department store downtown back in the day (on the very site of the new coop!). Maybe it's time to bring them back!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shartenberg's_Department_Store
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Mayor/ReadMore.asp?ID=%7BDE80B293-34FC-4E92-8981-E8FF789D51A9%7D

Would a Target fit the bill?

Yeah, Target!

Coco,
wanting to see H&M/Old Navy/Express/other major clothing retailers within walking distance is not something that makes us arrogant. We are expressing interest in shopping at stores located within walking distance of us.

I never understand the need to post negative bs on other people's constructive opinions. Salvation Army is "just fine", but it isn't the only place that people want to shop. I don't understand how expressing interest in other options makes us worthy of your scorn.

I agree we need a Target-style retailer downtown but are there any vacant properties in the immediate downtown area that could support this type of tenant? They require a very large amount of space.

I have found Walgreens to be the best place to find the basics. It works since it occupies a relatively small building. Are there any department stores that occupy smaller spaces?

Yes, several department stores are starting to roll out smaller scale stores for urban areas. I'd suggest contacting New Haven EDC to let them know this would be something of interest.

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Jaime, no need to be insulting. People have different opinions about the lack of a market downtown: people like myself think it is because there are few shopping options downtown.

Between Yale students, grad students, and residents, I think there are plenty of people who could afford to shop at a Target. We support a Barnes and Noble, which is certainly a much less lucrative enterprise.

Why be so nasty and insulting?

I mean you really think if there was a target in the middle of 120,000 people that they wouldn't shop there? Just curious if that is your position. If so, you disagree, but still no need to insult anyones intelligence. High-end clothing retailers do seem to survive here, so it doesn't take a great logic leap to suppose that a mid-level retailer might do well.

There is this thing called a bus.It is inexpensive and it will take you anywhere you want along Boston post road. Even to the mall. There is an H&M in the mall. The reason why we dont have retail like you want is cause they don't make any money downtown. Why do you think Gap is gone. The reason why we dont have department stores downtown is because we have shopping malls. Get a car or take a bus. Come on this is Connecticut, not NYC. And its not like you see target, or walmart in the middle of nyc or any big city for that matter. People need to make up there minds. Small local business or big box retailers that destroy america. You cant have both.

There are no reasonable priced clothing stores for the same reason there are no supermarkets downtown: SHOPLIFTERS!!!!! No reasonable business is going to risk armed robbers and petty thievery or spend large amount of money for security measures. There are too many criminals in walking distance of the downtown district. Just look at all the shootings that have happened here in the last year!

Ratszo, retail operations report 10 billion in losses to shoplifting per year.

They report an additional 50 billion in employee theft.

The shootings have largely not occurred downtown, involve drugs and ex convicts, and have nothing to do with clothing stores or Targets.

While others may share your erroneous belief that downtown is some hot spot of shooting, I hope they will do the research to realize that is not the case.

Tom J:
Thanks for the excessively pedantic lecture and negativity. While I am very aware of the bus, I still think a proper clothing store downtown would improve my city, and I'd like to see that happen.

Issue closed. There are clothing stores on Broadway.