Former R&S Strauss Auto Service Center

 

I was driving towards what used to be the Consumers Park Brewery when something caught my eye—the wooden gate doors of the old auto parts store were wide open. Someone had broken in. The building had been vacant for years, even as new construction surged all around it. Right next door, a fresh, modern structure had risen, but this place remained untouched—a relic of the past hollowed out and forgotten.

I pulled over without hesitation. These moments don’t come often. A while back, another shuttered dealership had been left open for months, its entrance exposed. Graffiti artists had made their mark on the metal gates, turning the abandoned space into an urban canvas. I had thought about exploring it, but before I could, the gates were suddenly chained shut overnight. The opportunity was gone.

Not this time.

This time, I wasn’t letting the moment slip away. I stepped inside, finally getting a look at what had been hidden behind those rolled-down gates and green plywood barriers.

And what I found was worth the wait.

I walked in like I owned the place—like a developer inspecting a new property. With my camera in hand, I started snapping photos, glancing back at the entrance every so often. Then I spotted it—a backpack and a roller bag tucked away in a corner near a bare, studded wall.

My senses went on high alert. Was someone living here? Maybe using it as a temporary escape from the brutal cold? New York wasn’t playing games today—the temperature had dropped to a bone-chilling 23 degrees, with a wind chill that made it feel even worse. Outside was no place to be. You had to bundle up, cover everything, or risk the bite of the air, sharp as a dog’s wet nose pressed against bare skin.

I pushed forward. The ground was a mess, covered in fallen ceiling tiles that had absorbed water and turned to mush. The space was hollowed out, the roof riddled with gaping holes. This wasn’t some rehab project waiting for a gut renovation—this place was beyond saving. From the sidewalk, the exterior still looked solid, but inside? It was a lost cause. The only future this building had was under the weight of a wrecking ball.

Every wall was covered in graffiti, from amateur tags to intricate, professional pieces. Nothing had been left untouched. Some murals had clearly been there for years, their colors faded, overshadowed by newer, bolder works layered on top. This place had been abandoned for quite some time, sealed off after artists had left their mark.

A few pieces stood out more than the rest, and I took my time documenting them. Once I felt I had captured what I came for, I made a quiet exit, slipping out unnoticed—just as I had entered.

This building had a story. On the morning of February 22, 2021, a fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. at the one-story auto repair shop that once operated here, sitting on the border of Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens. It took more than two hours and 140 firefighters and EMS personnel to put out the flames. After the fire, the repair shop temporarily relocated to 389 Empire Blvd. But the original property? It’s been sitting untouched ever since—four years and counting, a forgotten shell in a city that never stops building.

History

Strauss Discount Auto has a long and winding history, tracing its roots back to 1919 when two friends, Harry Roth, and Herman Schlenger, founded Roth & Schlenger Home and Auto Supplies—better known as R&S Home and Auto Stores—in Newark, New Jersey. The company started as a supplier of car-related products and opened its first superstore in 1954.

The brand became a household name for New Yorkers in 1983 when it merged with Brooklyn-based Strauss Stores, which had five locations and a warehouse. Strauss Stores itself had deep roots, founded in 1929 by Isaac “Izzy” Strauss, an early executive at Pep Boys during its formative years in the 1920s. The merger created the largest auto parts retailer in the Northeast, consolidating around 70 stores.

Growth continued in 1987 when the company acquired Penn-Jersey Auto Parts, expanding into Philadelphia and Delaware. By 1993, Strauss had changed hands again, sold to Merrill Lynch Capital Partners after previously being owned by the British holding company Ward White Group PLC.

In 1995, the company rebranded as Strauss Discount Auto. Over the years, ownership shifted multiple times. In 2007, Japanese auto-parts giant Autobacs Seven Co. purchased the company, renaming it Autobacs Strauss. Three years later, in October 2010, SDA Inc. took over, vowing to “aggressively focus on service, tire, and repair segments,” with headquarters in South River, New Jersey.

That vision, however, never materialized.

Strauss Discount Auto, a once-venerable name in metro-area auto repair and supplies, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012, leading to the abrupt closure of more than 45 locations and the layoff of approximately 700 workers. It wasn’t the first time the company had struggled. Back in 1999, Strauss had also declared bankruptcy after its majority owner, Japan’s Autobacs Seven Co. Ltd., pulled financial support and called in its loans. At the time, the company listed $75 million in assets against $72 million in liabilities.

In 2010, SDA Inc., based in South River, New Jersey, acquired Strauss, vowing to “aggressively focus on service, tire, and repair segments.” The company secured a $10 million revolving line of credit from a Connecticut bank and received approval for a joint reorganization plan from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. But those efforts weren’t enough to keep the business afloat.

At the time of its collapse, Strauss employees were already protesting a two-year wage freeze and the loss of pension funding. The company’s footprint had shrunk dramatically—from 111 stores in six states at its peak to just 73 locations by 2009, before dipping further to 86 stores a few years later. By the end, Strauss had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy more times than any other single company in U.S. history—a total of five times.

The end came when Somerset Tire Service Inc. took over 21 Strauss locations, converting them into STS Tire & Auto Centers. The rest of the company faded into nonexistence, another casualty of the declining auto parts retail sector. The industry has seen widespread closures, with Auto Plus announcing in November 2024 that it would shut down over 700 stores. Strauss joined a long list of once-prominent auto parts retailers that have disappeared, including Crown Auto Parts, Murray’s, Big A Auto Parts, Hi-Gear Auto Parts, Sears Automotive, and even once-dominant chains like Pep Boys and O’Reilly.

As for the former Strauss properties? Many, including the Empire Boulevard site, are poised for redevelopment into housing or commercial space—part of the broader wave of gentrification reshaping the neighborhood.

At its peak, Strauss Discount Auto operated nine stores in Brooklyn, 19 across New York City, and 45 throughout the metro area. Two of those locations were in Sheepshead Bay.

Here are all the former Brooklyn locations of Strauss Discount Auto:

3720 Nostrand Avenue (Advance Auto Parts)

2570 Coney Island Avenue (Chateau De Capitiane) 

183-207 Empire Boulevard (current vacant location)

225 McGuiness Boulevard (mixed-used residential)

527-39 4th Avenue (residential building)

208 Union Avenue

2011-2031 Utica Avenue

832 Pennsylvania Avenue

2686 Atlantic Avenue

If you're interested in exploring more abandoned automobile locations in New York City, be sure to check out my piece on the Queens Hillside Nemet dealership here.

Sources:

1. Berke, Ned, "Strauss Auto Declares Bankruptcy Overnight, 45 Stores Shuttered, 700 Laid Off", June 5, 2012, Bklyner

2. "3-alarm fire burns through auto service center, vehicles in Crown Heights", Eyewitness News

3. Quinn, Anna, "3 Hurt In Massive Fire At Crown Heights Auto Shop: FDNY", Patch

4. Brito, Christopher, "Strauss Discount Auto closes stores due to bankruptcy", QNS

5.  Alexander, Dan, "Strauss Auto Close Store Locations Abruptly", New Jersey 101.5 

6. "Pathmark Closing, Struass Auto Shuts Down", sunnysidepost

7. Davis, Bruce, "STS acquires 21 Strauss stores", Tire Business

8. Braswell, E. (2011). The Pep Boys Auto Guide to Car Care and Maintenance: Easy, Do-It-Yourself Upkeep for a Healthy Car, Vital Tips for Service and Repair, and Strategies for Roadside Emergencies. United Kingdom: Random House Publishing Group. pp.4