The second store to open in the massive mall in East Harlem is set to debut on March 26th but there are early signs of disappointment from the community. DNAinfo reports that the promised hiring of employees that would consist of 60% from the surrounding neighborhood looks to be falling short at the new Best Buy. With Costco firing most of their community staff early this year because of poor earnings and locals not deciding to shop at the mall because of parking garage fees, things don't look so uplifting for this addition that many hoped would elevate the economy in the area. Read more about the ongoing struggles in today's DNAinfo: LINK. Photo by Ulysses
Thursday, March 11, 2010
☞ SHOP: East River Plaza Best Buy to Open
The second store to open in the massive mall in East Harlem is set to debut on March 26th but there are early signs of disappointment from the community. DNAinfo reports that the promised hiring of employees that would consist of 60% from the surrounding neighborhood looks to be falling short at the new Best Buy. With Costco firing most of their community staff early this year because of poor earnings and locals not deciding to shop at the mall because of parking garage fees, things don't look so uplifting for this addition that many hoped would elevate the economy in the area. Read more about the ongoing struggles in today's DNAinfo: LINK. Photo by Ulysses
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This was an empty lot and abandoned buildings. Anything was an improvement. This mall, although right now is not looking like it will fill the promised jobs will improve. We are in a bad recession and once the economy picks up, I am sure the hiring will begin again.
ReplyDeleteParking garages charge for parking. That is life. This is Manhattan, not Toledo, Ohio.
In Manhattan, shoppers rely on the subways or they walk to their shopping destination. In Toledo, they drive a car to the mall garage.
ReplyDeleteThe parking fees seem excessive....I think I paid $4.50 for 30 minutes. Also, how have they marketed this mall...what demographics did they focus on? I think they need to re-tool their marketing strategy.
ReplyDeleteMalls in Toledo don't have garages! Otherwise I agree completely.
ReplyDeleteEverything about this place is poorly thought out. Car access is primarily by southbound FDR Drive, but how many people are going to drive to East Harlem to go to Best Buy or Costco? You can't get there by driving north on the FDR, which means commuters driving home from Midtown and lower Manhattan won't stop there on the way home from work. The architecture is hideous, pedestrian access is poor, and the building turns its back on the neighborhood. All in all a total retail disaster.
the parking garage is crap. They should validate the parking like pathmark on 125th street. It is so ridiculous to pay and i know for certain that is they nix the parking fee, more business would come.
ReplyDeleteGood point about inaccessibility to the FDR. I live in the area. As far as I'm concerned COSTCO looks as good or better than most of the crummy looking condos and co-op building going up on the east side of Lexington. The shoddy construction of many of these places is just disheartening. Cheapness! These places will not age gracefully.
ReplyDeleteI’m really happy with this Costco.
ReplyDeleteI like the Costco, but I completely agree with the anon comment above re. FDR access and access in general. Here is the problem. For Costco the bulk of shoppers go once every couple of months, load up on items and have no reason to go back. This works for bulk items. I think they will have a real problem generating foot traffic for Best Buy, however. I used to live near the BB on 86th and Lex and would drop in almost weekly to look around and buy on impulse. Problem is, with this location you will miss out on all of the impulse buys, hardly any foot traffic along with people put off having to pay for parking. To sum up, an awful location.
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