New stores open in Industry City, by Michael Cobb

Hifi Provisions, located at 237 36th Street in Industry City, Brooklyn, is now open.

Upon entry, customers will notice wooden racks, hand built by owner Matthew Coluccio, with records old and new for sale. At the back is a cozy area with velvet, art-deco chairs and an impressive, vintage Bang & Olufssen music system, which he acquired from a psychologist in Manhattan.

“It’s like my living room, except that everything’s for sale. I want people to feel comfortable enough to hang out, play music, and chat,” he says.

To the right is his workshop where he tinkers among jumbles of cables, capacitors, and transistors, which often retain deadly electrical charges over 400 volts and is not recommended work for amateurs. Coluccio learned from a friend and by reading old manuals. He envisions building guitar amps from his work desk as well.

“My obsession with tube amps came after my father gave me an old amp he found in the garbage. The first time I turned it on and saw the tubes glow red and smelled the heat they produced was magical,” he says.

Though this is his first retail store, Coluccio is an expert at finding, fixing, and selling interesting things. He combs through what other people throw out on the streets of Brooklyn and has an uncanny knack for turning that into profit. Coluccio embodies the adage, “one man’s trash is another’s treasure.”

“Before this, I only had sales on the sidewalk and local swap meets. I picked up record collecting late in life and became passionate about it very quickly,” he says.

Coluccio buys records wherever he can find them, driving to yard sales, estate sales, and responding to craigslist ads. He’s also experimenting with consignments and is looking for everything except classical. “I want the store to have a wide variety of genres. I have plenty of shelves that I need to fill,” he adds.

With a background in Graphic Design, advertising and branding, it makes sense that he designed the store logo, soon to be lit up in neon. He also plans on hosting happenings with DJs, bands, and dance parties. “I’m working with Industry City at the moment trying to plan some events, so stay tuned,” Coluccio says.

Powerhouse IC

Located at 220 36th Street in building #2 (next to HiFi Provisions) is Powerhouse IC. With the original store in DUMBO and an additional locale in Park Slope, the latest branch adds to the shopping diversity at Sunset Park’s Industry City.

Book shoppers may be most familiar with their original site  in DUMBO, described as “a laboratory for creative thought and premier venue for exhibitions, installations, presentations, displays, viewings, performances and readings.”

Past events have featured writers including Salman Rushdie, Paul Auster, David Sedaris, Jonathan Lethem, Joyce Carol Oates, Jennifer Egan, T.C. Boyle, Jonathan Franzen, and the late Pete Hamill.

Powerhouse Arena was well known for hosting ultra-hip events like the afterparty for the world premier of Lou Reed’s Berlin, VH1’s Hip Hop Honors Week, The New Yorker Speakeasy, and Absolut Brooklyn with Spike Lee, the likes of which have sadly been shut down due to Covid.

At the Industry City branch there’s a good selection of current and classic titles for children and adults.” They also maintain a website for virtual shopping.

Powerhouse is “a small family-run business, and have been stubbornly proud of our sole focus on the curated shopping experience, the engaging and thought-provoking programming.”

It was late Monday evening when I stopped by, and though no one else was in the store, the attendant was extremely helpful. My 11-year-old bought a copy of Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas, author of The Hate You Give.

With barely a soul about, Industry City feels like a bit of a ghost town these days. One has to worry about the future of commerce in Brooklyn and New York in general. The proprietors of Powerhouse Susanne and Daniel say as much in a letter written to their customers online.

“Covid-19 has changed everything, and like all of you we do not know how, when, or even if things will return to the way they used to be. The future? Maybe it will be masks and 50% capacity. Maybe it will be by appointment. But one thing for sure: online is where lives will be going, for better or for worse.”

Powerhouse has adapted to the pandemic by conducting much of their business through their website. Customers can use the IndieCommerce-powered site to order “anywhere in the world, by mail or by pickup.” To place an order, go to:

www.powerhousebookstores.com

Susanne and Daniel close their e-letter by stating, “We will be bringing our own curated items to this site regularly, so we hope you will stick with us. We appreciate your business, and we will be here as long as you are here.”

Powerhouse Bookstore – Industry City
220 36th St., Building #2,
Brooklyn, NY 11232
10-6 pm daily