This was the first Target to open in New York City and it’s closing permanently Target announced that it will close nine of its stores including the one on 117th Street it is a body blow to this community the issue theft the retailer saying it’s not only hurting business
But it’s compromis the safety of employees I see people walking through the exit door with stuff inside hands it’s sad City Hall says stores were hit more than 22,000 Times by shoplifters last year they come here they still they still they still so the target that’s closing it’s
Right here in a massive shopping complex with a whole bunch of other stores Costco Burlington Aldi none of the other stores are closing only target why is that this was the first Target Branch to open in Manhattan back in 2009 is part of a larger development aimed at bringing retail to an underserved
Community Target says the store will close for Good in less than a month this is the East River Plaza 12 stores four anchor stores and this was a really big deal for this area of town we’re on 117th Street before this place opened none of these stores had a presence up
Here in this part of town and for the first time ever people that lived around here had access to stores like this without having to travel to some farway location downtown Uptown or the Bronx look at all the different level here this is a massive complex and if the
Stores that are here start vacating the residents that rely on them aren’t going to have any other options and not only is Target the first store here to pack it up and call it quits it’s also one of the four anchor stores in this location and that’s a big Deal As Fox 5’s Arthur Chan reports targets blaming the closures on ongoing problems with theft and violence Anthony uses it for his groceries and David is here for a birthday Pro so in about 2 weeks this store is going to be closed this is what it’s like in here right now most of the
Store shelves are full I spoke to somebody that works here and they said that most of the inventory is out on the floor but the stock rooms in the back are pretty much empty at this point and that makes sense most of the large display sections like this are full but
The side aisles that don’t take up a prominent position those are pretty much empty the entire detergent aisle is Walled off with gated um gated glass I think this was a button that you would ring for an associate either way everything’s locked up here detergents are a popular Target for those who want
To take them without paying they are doing a good job making it look relatively presentable while it’s in its final days on a lot of the shelves the inventory is only like one item deep there’s nothing behind it but but all things considered they’re doing the best
They can with this situation and if you know where to look entire sections are empty at some point they’ll probably stop stocking this however interesting the milk that’s here has the same expiration date as the store’s closing date and look at this they are fully stocked on Halloween candy and that
Makes it seem like the decision to close is relatively sudden it’s weird that a store would stock up on seasonal items the same month that they’re closing that’s very doesn’t make sense or it could be that this stuff was in the store’s basement since last year and
They brought it out but that doesn’t explain the candy and consider this this Target store it is the anchor store here at the East River Plaza and the long-term concern if Target’s leaving who will do the same now as I mentioned before this is an anchor store and an
Anchor store is the kind of store that brings people to a place like this as the main attraction Target is the kind of place that will sell you anything and everything even TVs and because of that you can’t have a major shopping complex like this with without anchor stores to
Bring people in and all the other little stores they need the foot traffic from big businesses like this in order to exist at all they can’t if the anchor stores pull out that’s why Target pulling out is a big deal and even businesses that aren’t in this shopping
Complex that might be nearby they benefit from increased activity in this area a solid anchor store or group of anchor stores can totally change a neighborhood and to an extent that’s what happened when Target moved in and just as a solid anchor store can bring a positive change to a neighborhood if one
Pulls out the opposite can happen and the neighborhood can get worse for everybody that lives Here now Target is placing the blame for their needed closure on shoplifting they come here they steal they still they still Target says it’s closing this store in a matter of weeks citing rampant shoplifting that threatens the safety of employees and customers now look I’m not an attorney but if
Shoplifting is putting customers and employees in danger and the store is losing money there’s not really a whole lot they can do it’s a losing battle and if people are in danger The Situation’s unsafe and somebody gets hurt there could be lawsuits also if customers don’t feel safe inside the store and
They just see people taking things that don’t belong to them they’re not going to be too enthusiastic about spending money at a place like this and this target has been in the neighborhood for 13 years and this was the first store they opened in New York before their
Major push into the City and I’m guessing that by the presence of all of the food all the non-expired things the Halloween candy they didn’t know they were going to have to shut down you can’t really transport stuff that’s going to go bad and needs Refrigeration to other stores of course some items
Here have a longer shelf life than others even some of the St sales have expiration dates that are after the store will close so those were put there with people not knowing that their jobs in the store were in Jeopardy maybe they see less theft at their other locations
Maybe those locations make more money and closing this one makes the whole region more profitable they thought they was being smart and everything running in running out just disrespectful to this store now this that going to be no more talkg now what they going to do now what’s going to happen to this
Neighborhood unfortunately she’s right if you steal from a store like this you’re hurting pretty much everybody people work here to earn a living if the store closes they can’t do that anymore think about the people that live around here there’s families with kids people need baby formula people need food
People need school supplies people need clothing all of that stuff’s here but if this place shuts down you can’t get that stuff here you got to go somewhere else the nearest Target is either way up here in the Bronx or downtown and the big fear is that if Target pulls out
Completely from this part of town other stores might not be far behind and that could take down this entire Neighborhood so the big fear here is that Target could be the first domino in a Cascade of dominoes and if it falls it starts knocking everything else down and the whole ship sinks if you’re you’re here for Target or you’re here for Costco are you also going to eat at
Applebee’s or sign up for Planet Fitness if you have no other reason to be here this is only a massive Hub very convenient full of stores if the stores stay if they pull out it’s not convenient people are going to leave there is a seven level parking garage
Here and you have little businesses like a couple of restaurants down on the corner here right outside the complex that foot traffic is why nearby local businesses have a shot in in the first place and after Target pulls out how long is it going to take for thieves to
Discover what the next easiest Target here is in this Plaza and begin hitting that place repeatedly until it closes the store’s closure on October 21st left Shoppers wondering where are the people in the community going to go now they would have to go to the Bronx now some
Of you are probably thinking if Target closes why not just shop at Costco they have a lot of the same stuff but while it’s true that Costco and Target might sell a lot of the same stuff Costco doesn’t work for people who don’t have a
Car or a big place to store a lot of those big inventory purchases shopping at Costco is like shopping at a warehouse and Costco has membership fees which not everyone can afford and look at all of the people walking to get here they didn’t drive their cars into park
They’re going to have to walk home now after getting married my wife and I we were living in atoria Queens we tried to do Costco but between the walk there and the walk back it was overwhelming we only went once and let’s say Target’s not here and you’re used to shopping at
This place and then walking back to your apartment if you have to take a train and add that on top of everything else you’ve got to do it’s just going to make your life so difficult and that’s why we can’t take the train to go shopping we pretty much only shopping stuff that’s
Local to the neighborhood and taking a cab that’s not an affordable option you know how expensive that is now and local residents aren’t the only ones who lose big time if a store like Target pulls out this right here is the street that enters the shopping complex this funny
Looking building across the street had something downstairs I forget what it was it might have been a restaurant wait this might have been the Applebees I think that’s what this was it looks like it’s been closed for a while if this place generates any less foot traffic
Stuff like what you see behind me is going to become even more common and if you look at the rest of the neighborhood it’s just residential there’s a lot of Apartments actually that’s all there is this is like 95% residential everything else here and this is Pleasant Avenue it’s east of
First Avenue there’s nothing else over here without that shopping Center this would be totally different it would be even quieter the busiest place here is the little laundromat there’s a tiny little cafe right here on the corner and if targets your grocery store and Target closes where’s the other grocery
Store I don’t see one but why is Target the only place closing are these other stores having similar issues and they just haven’t closed Yet this is pretty interesting apparently cost Cod doesn’t have the same problems with theft like stores at Target do the article mentions that Target has a lot of self checkouts but stores like Costco don’t which means that the people who are shopping at Costco are monitored to a degree that
They may not be if there’s a self checkout and in order to shop at the Costco you’ve got to be a member to even make purchases retail theft is 95% higher at places like Target than it is at places like Costco that’s a massive difference and there’s a big difference
Between anybody being able to just walk into a Target when at Costco they check your membership at the door and will deny you entry if you’re not one now that doesn’t necessarily mean stores like Target should start charging memberships but it is one reason why they’re closing and Costco isn’t and the
Other big beneficiary from all this is surprisingly Amazon if you live in a neighborhood that doesn’t have a whole lot of local options that you can walk into for things like clothing and basic items that are also sold at Target people are probably going to start buying those on Amazon they also have
Food delivery and there’s other grocery delivery services here in New York as well and if things like crime keep going up we may see more businesses transition to a delivery or pickup type of model because those are the only ones that can’t suffer from shoplifting I shop at
A Target all the time I find this very disheartening to know that they decided that enough is enough and they’re leaving seems like this is something that the governor is aware of not just in this neighborhood but in all parts of New York City City Hall says stores were
Hit more than 22,000 Times by shoplifters last year 22,000 incidents of shoplifting that is absolutely crazy and apparently out of the total number of shoplifters 30% were repeat offenders they had done it before now the governor is blaming all these retail closures and all this retail theft on local policing but the local
Police system here is pretty overwhelmed as it is is Target justified in closing and is there closing going to leave this little neighborhood without a source of groceries and affordable items and is there more that people like the governor could do to assist local residents who are suffering from this and could things
Get worse let me know in the comments thanks for watching
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