Tough Times on Atlantic Avenue

Nova Zembla, the custom furniture store known to everyone familiar with Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue, will close its doors on March 31, after 11 years in business. Owner Tommy Safian has given some very specific reasons for his exit in a message taped to the door, including a torn rotator cuff and a new child. The store's disappearance will leave a big hole at the corner of Henry and Atlantic, which already has a dormant corner in the form of the long-abandoned Long Island Restaurant.

Meanwhile, down the block, there's another vacancy. Mezcals, the longstanding Mexican restaurant between Henry and Clinton, is suddenly gone. A neighbor told me, "Their lease ran out and the rent skyrocketed." Pretty dumb business move on the landlord's part, given there are already plenty of empty storefronts on the street.

And then there's this: La Pizzetta, which only opened in 2008 at 145 Atlantic, is already temporarily closed. A sign in the window reads "We will reopen on March 2 under new management." But I read that on March 1 and it didn't look close to reopening.