Joseph Cirone Cirone: “At least now we have clarity and we can start to make adjustments to North Brooklyn’s new world.”

NEW YORK CITY—After the tease by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of two different scenarios under which it would temporarily suspend the line to do work necessitated by Hurricane Sandy, the agency revealed its plan earlier this week. The tunnel that carries the L—a main artery that carries Brooklynites to Manhattan, and vice versa, under the East River will be shut down entirely for 18 months, beginning in Jan., 2019.

While the plan that ultimately was chosen is the “lesser of two evils,” the protracted suspension of the vital transportation is likely to hurt Northern Brooklyn, Joseph Cirone, a  Cushman & Wakefield senior director specializing in the Brooklyn market, tells GlobeSt.com in this EXCLUSIVE interview.

However, the move isn’t all bad news, he asserts. Some office properties are likely to benefit from the temporary change, and certain portions of the borough may even see an uptick in office and residential leasing.

GlobeSt.com: The market knew this was coming, so is this better or worse than expected?

Cirone: “This was the better of two options; it’s best to rip the Band-Aid off. At least now we have clarity and we can start to make adjustments to North Brooklyn’s new world from 2019 to 2021.

Residents there will be more reliant on Uber and Lyft, bikes and also the G and J/M/Z lines. They’re less popular because the L goes into Union Square, but the J/M/Z is one of the better kept secrets of Brooklyn. It runs right through the financial district and goes into heavily populated emerging residential and commercial neighborhoods—most notably, Bushwick.

GlobeSt.com: How do you see this impacting the office market throughout Brooklyn?

Cirone: A few projects may benefit. Projects like 95 Evergreen Ave., the former Schlitz Brewery, will still be extremely accessible. The 160,000-square-foot building is about a seven minute walk away from the J/M/Z Morgan Avenue station in Bushwick. And Manhattan-based employees who need to see employees at the Brooklyn building— which is an agency assignment of Cirone’s and owned by Savanna and Hornig Capital Partners—can take those lines from Midtown.

Another project that will benefit is 209 Havemeyer St.—the old Dime Savings Bank headquarters. This is ground-up construction and the delivery  will probably coincide with the shut-down. But to get to the building, which has 100,000 square feet of office space, commuters can take the J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue, which is the first stop on the line.

Also, companies who have a lot of employees in North Brooklyn may take some small office space there [to reduce commuting hassles]. On the flip side, if you’re a large scale project coming online in North Williamsburg, that isn’t going to necessarily make things easier.

GlobeSt.com: How about the retail sector?

Cirone:. If you are a brand in North Williamsburg that’s drawing heavily from tourism traffic, it’s definitely going to have a big effect. Mainstream retailers, like J.Crew and Urban Outfitters, have gone there; the tourism traffic to those stores will lessen significantly.

It would be helpful for these retailers to see some answers on how the MTA plans to provide alternatives to get to the area. Tourists still will find a way but you’ll see more happening in Downtown Brooklyn and Dumbo. The focus probably will be more on Cobble Hill and Caroll Gardens.

GlobeSt.com: Do you think it will impact the residential sector too?

Cirone: If you recently bought a property, you’re staying put but in terms of renters, I think we will see a lot of people move. They’ll want to go to the next emerging neighborhood in North Brooklyn and unquestionably, that’s Bushwick.