Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards
General Category => Hackensack Discussion => Topic started by: BLeafe on March 23, 2018, 04:42:23 PM
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1. from their Facebook page
2. I took this while driving by today.
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My friends and I used to go there all the time. Would also go to Robin's Pets on Essex street. We always had pet turtles. Little green ones, painted turtles, snapping turtles and box turtles. Always checked out all the animals, was like going to a mini zoo. Used to be many of the department stores had pet departments too.
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At one time, they were the largest pet store around.
There's more to the story. 68 years ago they were in the middle of the most fashionable multi-unit neighborhood in Bergen County. All of those nearby apartments were new, and filled with tenants with much higher income. It was comparable to what Prospect Avenue is today. Anderson Street was a very desirable business district to visit, for those from out of town. And that is certainly not the case any more. The lure of the entire neighborhood is just gone. The apartments are old and outdated, with old kitchens and bathrooms, old floor plans, old electrical, no parking. One building had a major fire, and 1/4 of it was demolished. There's no way they can compete with Prospect Ave or other 'luxury' apartment buildings in other towns.
I think if Kazimer's Pets were in downtown Ridgewood, they would have survived. It's more than just chain stores and internet.
And what really killed Anderson Street was the drive by the City of Hackensack to get rid of the antique shops, which peeked in number in the early to mid 1970's, I believe. At one point there were 17 of them, and they drew customers from other Counties and even New York. Somehow the city fathers thought if those "damn" antique shops were eliminated, higher quality stores would come in. Well, other stores came in, and they weren't higher quality at all.
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In today's Record:
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/hackensack/2018/04/08/kazimirs-pet-shop-hackensack-closing-its-doors-after-68-years/417026002/
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https://www.northjersey.com/videos/news/bergen/hackensack/2018/04/28/kazimirs-pet-shop-owner-hackensack-says-goodbye-after-68-years/561451002/
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Nearly 3 months later:
(click to enlarge)
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Another legendary run comes to an end
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I returned to the area in January after living 10 years in Essex County. i'm now in Maywood. I'm just astounded at how run-down and impoverished the Anderson Street business district has become. When you live in Hackensack, the change happens slowly and you hardly notice it. But for someone who comes back after 10 years and sees what it has become, it's much more shocking. I see that Rudy's is also gone. Anderson Street used to be better than Central Ave, but now the tables are turned. Central Ave has slightly improved, while Anderson Street has just gone into a deep decline. The quality of the stores remaining is largely pitiful.
I think the highest priority redevelopment area in Hackensack should be the block bounded by Passaic Street, Park Street, Anderson Street, and the railroad. If there is ONE BLOCK in the entire city that is most holding back Hackensack, it's this square block. It could be a mixed use transit village, with nice stores on the ground level.
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And what's really improved is the south side of Passaic Street from Park Street to Linden Ave. And both sides of Passaic Street from Linden Ave going west to Second Street. I think a lot of this has to do with the "loss" of the giant boarding house at 211 Passaic Street. I think that fire was around 2005. You now see houses now with well kept exteriors and landscaping, and nice new front doors. That was also a shock to me, after 10 years.
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The Kazimir's site as of yesterday:
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Taken on 12-26-18:
Click to enlarge.