The era of the massive Fulton Street department store is hitting a wall. Honestly, it’s a weird feeling for anyone who grew up taking the G or the 2 train into the heart of Brooklyn just to wander those high-ceilinged aisles. This Sunday, the lights go out for good. Macy’s in downtown Brooklyn is closing its doors on Sunday, and while the "Going Out of Business" signs have been plastered on the windows for weeks, the reality is finally sinking in for the neighborhood. It’s not just a shop shutting down. It’s a piece of the borough’s DNA being scrubbed away to make room for what’s next.
Retail is brutal right now.
You’ve probably seen the headlines about the "retail apocalypse," but this specific closure feels different because it’s so tied to the identity of Downtown Brooklyn. This isn’t a suburban mall anchor in the middle of a parking lot. This is Fulton Street. This is the old Abraham & Straus building—a landmark that has survived world wars, the Great Depression, and the rise of Amazon. But even history can’t pay the rent when consumer habits shift as drastically as they have over the last five years.
The Real Reason the Fulton Street Icon is Vanishing
Everyone wants to blame one thing. Some say it's the crime. Others point to the fact that nobody wants to buy a physical suit anymore. But the truth is a messy cocktail of real estate strategy and corporate restructuring. Macy's Inc. announced earlier that they would be shuttering roughly 150 "underproductive" locations across the United States. It's part of a massive pivot toward what they call "A Bold New Chapter." Basically, they are betting everything on luxury brands like Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury while trimming the fat from their namesake brand.
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The Fulton Street location was always in a tough spot.
Back in 2015, Macy’s actually sold the upper floors of the building to Tishman Speyer for $270 million. They condensed the store into the lower levels and the basement. It was a move to unlock the value of the real estate, turning the top half into high-end office space known as "The Wheeler." But even after that massive renovation, the foot traffic just wasn't hitting the numbers the C-suite in Manhattan wanted to see. When you look at the balance sheet, the square footage didn't justify the overhead in 2026's economy.
What This Means for Brooklyn's Changing Face
If you walk down Fulton Street today, you’ll see a neighborhood in the middle of an identity crisis. On one corner, you have the old-school jewelry shops and discount clothing stores that have been there for decades. On the other, you have $4,000-a-month apartments and high-end coffee shops. Macy's in downtown Brooklyn is closing its doors on Sunday because it sort of got stuck in the middle. It wasn't "luxury" enough for the new crowd moving into the skyscrapers, and it wasn't nimble enough to compete with the fast-fashion giants or online retailers.
Local shoppers are understandably frustrated. For many elderly residents in the nearby NYCHA complexes or the brownstones of Fort Greene, Macy's was the go-to for everything from Sunday best outfits to kitchen appliances.
- The loss of accessibility is huge.
- Jobs are disappearing, though Macy's claims they are trying to transfer employees to other locations like Herald Square or Kings Plaza.
- The vacancy leaves a massive hole in the streetscape that could take years to fill.
The "Macy's effect" is a real thing. When an anchor store leaves, the smaller mom-and-pop shops nearby often see a dip in sales because there's no longer a primary reason for people to spend three hours on that specific block. We’ve seen this play out in cities like Chicago and San Francisco. It’s a domino effect.
A Ghost of Abraham & Straus
You can’t talk about this closure without mentioning A&S. Abraham & Straus was the king of Brooklyn retail. When Macy’s took over the brand in the 90s, they kept the spirit alive for a while, but the building itself is the real star. The cast-iron architecture and the history of that site are legendary. There was a time when the Christmas windows at the Brooklyn Macy's rivaled anything you’d see in Manhattan.
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Now? The windows are mostly covered in "Everything Must Go" stickers. It’s a bit depressing, honestly.
But here is the twist: the building isn't being demolished. Since Tishman Speyer owns the rights to much of the structure, we are likely looking at a future where the ground floor is carved up into smaller, "boutique" retail spaces. Think less "one-stop-shop" and more "curated experience." That's the buzzword corporate landlords love. They want five smaller tenants paying higher rent per square foot rather than one giant department store struggling to keep the lights on.
The Logistics of the Final Days
If you're planning on heading down there before the final curtain call, expect chaos. The inventory is picked over. The escalators might be creaky. But there’s a certain nostalgia in walking those floors one last time.
The clearance sales have reached their peak. Most of the high-end stuff is gone, shipped off to other stores or sold weeks ago. What’s left is the hardware, some random home goods, and a lot of empty shelving. It’s the skeleton of a department store.
Wait times at the registers are long because staffing has been scaled back to the bare minimum. If you go, go for the memories, not necessarily the deals. The real "deal" was the presence of a stable institution in a neighborhood that's changing faster than most people can keep up with.
Where Do Brooklynites Shop Now?
With the Sunday closure, the retail landscape in Brooklyn shifts toward the periphery.
- Kings Plaza: Still a powerhouse, but it's a haul if you're coming from North or Central Brooklyn.
- Atlantic Terminal: It has Target and Marshalls, but it lacks that "department store" feel where you can find high-end cosmetics and furniture under one roof.
- Herald Square: The flagship is only a few subway stops away, but for many Brooklyn residents, "going into the city" is a chore they'd rather avoid.
The reality is that more of this spending is going to move to apps. It's convenient, sure, but you lose the tactile experience. You lose the ability to feel the fabric of a coat or try on shoes without the hassle of a return shipment. That's the hidden cost of these closures—the loss of the "third space" where people actually interact with products and each other.
Survival in the 2026 Economy
Macy’s isn't the only one. We are seeing a massive shift where mid-tier retail is being squeezed out. You either have to be incredibly cheap (like Primark or T.J. Maxx) or incredibly high-end (like Bergdorf Goodman). Being in the middle is a dangerous place to be.
The company is betting that by closing stores like the one in Downtown Brooklyn, they can save enough capital to modernize their remaining 350 stores. They want more technology, better digital integration, and smaller "Market by Macy's" stores in suburban strips. It's a survival move. Whether it works or not remains to be seen, but for the people on Fulton Street, the strategy feels like a cold goodbye to a long-time friend.
Next Steps for Local Shoppers and Residents
If you have a Macy’s credit card or gift cards associated with this location, don't worry—they remain valid at any other Macy’s location or online. However, if you have any pending "Buy Online, Pick Up In Store" (BOPIS) orders for the Fulton Street location, you need to grab those immediately. Anything not picked up by the close of business Sunday will likely be canceled and refunded, or redirected to the Herald Square flagship.
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For those looking for work, the New York Department of Labor often sets up rapid response services for large-scale retail closures. If you're an employee affected by this, check the NY.gov site for "Rapid Response" transition services.
Lastly, if you want to see the architecture one last time, get there before 6:00 PM on Sunday. Once those doors lock, the transition to the next phase of Fulton Street begins, and the era of the Brooklyn department store officially enters the history books.