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Ikea is open in Red Hook!!
Josh Guttman | June 18, 2008
After years of controversy, construction, anticipation, the first Ikea in New York City opened in Red Hook, Brooklyn this morning, widely covered by the likes of Gothamist and The Brooklyn Paper. By the time the doors opened at 9:00 a.m., hundreds of shoppers had gathered on line outside the Swedish retailer. A festive atmosphere prevailed without any of the community dissent that had threatened the project from the beginning.
Rather than demonstrations from neighbors worried about the incoming wave of traffic, the crowd was largely enthusiastic, though one woman on line was reportedly heard yelling, “Where’s my job?” (Ikea gained support from some residents in Red Hook — a neighborhood with one of the highest poverty rates in New York City — with the promise of jobs, but has not released details about its some 500 new employees.)
The one and only Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz was on hand to welcome Ikea, declaring, “From this day forward, Red Hook will be one of the best known neighborhoods in New York City and New York State… Hundreds of local residents now have the opportunity to move up the economic ladder… Germany is currently the leading country in terms of Ikea sales and the United States is #2. Well, that’s about to change. Here in Brooklyn we don’t like being #2 to anyone and I have no doubt that in a very short time the Brooklyn Ikea will be the most prosperous of the 281 worldwide locations!”
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