Business & Tech

After 96 Years, Triangle Sports is Up for Sale

Owner of the Atlantic Yards-area icon says it's the right time to sell.

After nearly a century, may close its doors.

The owners have put the iconic triangular shaped building across the street from the on the market and will sell if the right offer comes along.

“Because of the arena across the street, it’s made this building extremely attractive. … It’s just a good time to do it,” said Henry Rosa, who owns the sports equipment and clothing shop with William Shapiro.

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Rosa said business at the store has been fine—he has a lot of dedicated customers and the opening of , Target and other national chains has only helped his business by increasing foot traffic.

It’s more about the timing—the rising prices from the arena, combined with a desire on both his and Shapiro’s part to move on to the next phase of their lives, he said.

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“The fact that he’s 76 or 77 and I’m 64—we’re getting old,” he said.

Shapiro’s grandmother, Betty Shapiro, opened the store in 1916. Rosa, who grew up in Park Slope, began working in the shop in 1962 at 14 sweeping floors and stocking shelves after school.

The store started selling Army/Navy surplus, then began offering rifles and other hunting equipment. It dropped the guns in the 1960s, and added sportswear in addition to the bathing suits and tennis rackets. These days, Levi’s and Timberland boots are particular favorites among customers, Rosa said.

But despite the changes, Triangle Sports has kept its old-timey flavor (red lighted sign-board aside).  

“We still operate as if it’s the 1940s. … You walk into a time capsule,” Rosa said. “I could have changed it to look like a Gap or a Sports Authority store a long time ago,  but whenever I suggested it (to customers) they said please leave it.”

“It’s a place that when people walk by, they say ‘Oh it’s not a chain, it’s a local place,” said Tanya Moore, who has been assistant manager at the nearby Park Slope Opticals for 15 years.

Rosa does not have an asking price on his building—he wants to see what kind of offers come in. And if he doesn’t see the right one, the store will stay open.

“If we don’t see it, than guess what? I’m going to be here. It’s just going up for sale and we’ll see what kind of interest we get,” he said.

But the chances of that happening seem slim.

As the Barclays Center nears completion, restaurant owners and national chains have been increasingly investigating nearby properties.

“More and more people are looking to rent space in this area,” said Sharon Davidson, director of the North Flatbush Business Improvement District. She added that the Triangle building is “the first real property I know of that’s been up for sale.”

Since the Barclays Arena was announced several years ago rents for nearby commercial space has spiked, rising from $30 to $50 a square foot to $65-$100 (or $50 if a gut renovation is in order), Davidson said.

Rosa said he won’t sell to a business that would be detrimental to the neighborhood, such as a “strip bar or McDonalds.”

But he is eager to move on to other pursuits.

“If we sell the building, I’m going to go play golf every day,” he said. “I’ll enjoy retirement. We’ve been doing this for 50 years.”


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