Nova Zembla Says Goodbye to Atlantic Avenue

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Furniture store Nova Zembla has been supplying Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill with custom housewares for eleven years, but now the Atlantic Avenue shop is closing down. In an unusually detailed farewell note, owner Tommy Safian cites parenthood and an upcoming operation that will prevent him from heavy lifting for six months as two of the reasons he's getting out of the retail game.

As Lost City notes, Atlantic's starting to show some wear and tear: Along with Nova Zembla, two nearby restaurants have just shut their doors (although one is supposedly re-opening soon.) Then again, pricey new additions like Jonathan Adler and Steven Alan seem to be doing OK, so maybe the problem isn't the recession so much as ongoing gentrification. Unless it's some unholy combination of the two: Gentrificession? Recessification?

· Tough Times on Atlantic Avenue [Lost City]
· Almost Open: Jonathan Adler on Atlantic Avenue [Racked NY]