Closing Park Slope Gear Shop's Final Message: 'Put Down Your Phone'

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A Park Slope outdoor gear store shutting its doors has an emotional message for neighborhoods residents before it moved out of the neighborhood.

"Put down your phone and shop at the great local businesses that are available to you now but are struggling," reads a message plastered on the door of Gear To Go Outfitters. "If your life becomes all about your phone, so will your neighborhood and all that will be left will be real estate offices, nail salons and banks."

Gear To Go rented camping and hiking equipment from a small store on Garfield Place starting in April 2011. It moved into the bigger location on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Garfield in April 2016.

Its last day at the location will be April 15, before moving its brick-and-mortar operation to the Hudson Valley. Gear To Go will still offer gear rentals online and is planning on expanding its trip-planning business.

The message on the storefront, from owner Kevin Rosenberg, cited two warm winters and a change in people's shopping habits for the closing.

But it had a bigger message for members of the community.

"By now you've read way too many of these letters and sadly it looks like there are more coming soon," the note said. "I hope you will look at our shop closing as the proverbial 'canary in the coalmine" and shift your shopping habits back to shopping in your own neighborhood. I've heard way too many people talk about how they love the 'Mom & Pop' shops of Park Slope only to talk about the great deal they got online in the very next sentence."

In an interview with Patch, Rosenberg stressed that, "We’re not angry with the community," but said habits will need to change if people want to keep small businesses in the neighborhood.

"We get people coming in through our store who say, 'Oh wow, your shop is beautiful, I’m so glad you guys are here, you helped me plan a trip,'" he said. "And then when they need gear they say, 'Oh I just got this on Amazon.'"

Rosenberg said that Gear To Go never charged above MSRP for its gear, but there was still a feeling that online shopping was cheaper.

"We didn’t raise the price a penny for being in Park Slope," he said. "People are just making that assumption now of all local businesses. I don’t know of any other local businesses who raise their price just for the privilege of being in Park Slope."

And, he said, there are perks of being able to shop at a brick-and-mortar store.

"We've had tons of people come in last minute as we’re closing who say, 'Oh my god, oh my god, I ordered something online, and i’m leaving in the morning for my vacation and I need it,'" he said. "And we’re like, 'Yeah, and it’s the same price here as it is online.' If you buy things online, you’re not going to have a place to run to if you need something last minute."

He added: "If people really do value their business, stop shopping online. you have everything you need in your community."

Rosenberg's message reads in full:

AFTER 8 YEARS IN PARK SLOPE, FROM STREET STAND TO STOREFRONT, WE'VE DECIDED TO CLOSE OUR RETAIL STORE AND MOVE OUR OPERATIONS TO THE HUDSON VALLEY. Unfortunately, two record warm Winters piled onto a dramatic shift in how folks shop has made it impossible to maintain a brick & mortar location in Park Slope. We will be focusing our efforts on the areas of our business that made us the most unique, rental gear, adventure travel, and guided trips. YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO RENT GEAR FROM US OR JOIN US FOR THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME. Rental gear will be shipped to you with just 1-day transit time. This shift in focus will also allow us to add more trips to our schedule. Look for more options in Iceland and elsewhere overseas, plus the addition of trips out West. We also expect to add more rental items to our inventory as we work to grow our business nationwide.

By now you've read way too many of these letters and sadly it looks like there are more coming soon. "I hope you will look at our shop closing as the proverbial 'canary in the coalmine" and shift your shopping habits back to shopping in your own neighborhood. I've heard way too many people talk about how they love the 'Mom & Pop' shops of Park Slope only to talk about the great deal they got online in the very next sentence. Put down your phone and shop at the great local businesses that are available to you now but are struggling. If your life becomes all about your phone, so will your neighborhood and all that will be left will be real estate offices, nail salons and banks.

We've all enjoyed being a part of the local community and especially loved hearing about your adventures all over the world. All of us here at Gear To Go Outfitters hope that we were able to be a small part of what made those trips possible. Thanks for all the support over the years and I hope to see you on the trail!

Very Truly Yours,

Kevin J. Rosenberg

Photo by Marc Torrence