That's the reality in Downtown Brooklyn on Grove Alley Place between Fulton and Livingston Streets.
In Downtown Brooklyn, there is foot traffic where graffiti and decay once scared people away.
"For a long time this was really disgusting trash strewn parking," said Katie Lyon, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.
On this night, vendors who are selling food and even underwear have crowded into what you might call an urban open air mall.
One that just developed organically in a place a lot of long time residents never really appreciated.
"I've been coming here for years," Eddie McGee, a Brooklyn resident said.
What the organizers of this event hope he and others found out is that even a place like this, with walls covered in graffiti, has potential.
It's a street an alleyway, but the organizers say they see it as a place to do business.
"Our longtime vision for this place is that it could be a retail corridor in its own right," Lyon said.
It's a way to encourage more nights like this and fewer businesses closing early.
"We did a lot over the last six months to clean it up. This is an event to showcase it to the public," Lyon said.
It's an alleyway in Brooklyn located at the intersection of the past and what some hope is the future of business.
For more information on the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership please visit: http://downtownbrooklyn.com/