With store owner Kay Lee revealing she scored a nearly equal rent in Manhattan's TriBeCa, it seems like the crumbling Williamsburg real estate market can't get a break. This is kind of an interesting move for a boutique specializing in new and contemporary designers, considering W'burg was once (still is? let the debate begin!) the bastion of all foward-thinking fashion. It seems style and culture suffers in the wake of overzealous building and waning parental support systems.
Lee predicts a quicker uptick in sales in the city's original nouveau-riche enclave, backed up by Manhattan's apparent staying power over the trendy section of the outer borough. We'll be interested to see if Otte's lead back over the bridge foreshadow's a shift in the Billyburg boutique scene.
