Reports that a Chili's Grill & Bar persistently leaks liquids into a Borders bookstore downstairs are backed up by scores of water-stained or missing ceiling panels. Storeowners and employees who asked to remain anonymous griped that Hemmerdinger charges outlandishly high rents and issues steep penalties to shops that open later than scheduled.
Hemmerdinger said rents and penalties are consistent with those at other shopping centers.
"That's not the criteria I'd use to say whether we have a good relationship," he said.
Perhaps the truest indicator of Atlas Park's success is its customers, who frequent the theater and eateries but often bypass stores.
"It's good if you want to see a movie, but not to shop," said Tyrone Casey, 18, of Jamaica, as he roamed Atlas Park last week.
"They just need more stores," said his pal, Chaz Fraser, 28, who lives a block from the mall.
"Stores people go to," Casey quipped.
But coming soon are a Republic of Couture apparel boutique and a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Hemmerdinger said.
Mall struggles to catch on: Owner says Atlas Park's growing pains are normal
Someone's a little out of touch when it comes to defining "stores people go to."
103 comments:
Atlas Park: missing "stores people go to" coupled with excessive prices at the existing stores.
Who would pay Manhattan prices to shop in Glendale?
The peeps in this article are looking for VIM, cell phone stores, Victoria's Secret, Coach (where they can buy bags they can't afford), Sean John apparel, Cinnabon (so they can ingest more garbage), Forever 21, Easy Pickens, Red Lobster, etc.
I for one enjoy shopping at Gymboree and Chicos.
Bay Terrace has a nice mix of both.
Sorry to break the news to you Tyrone, but Atlas Park has no interest in catering to the needs of 18 year olds. That's what Queens Center is for.
As a business model, Atlas Park is looking to attract older shoppers with more disposable income than the average Queens resident and who are willing to pay a little more at stores that don't have huge crowds, long lines and just provide an overall more enjoyable shopping experience.
As for James McCullen's question about...Who would pay Manhattan prices to shop in Glendale....Queens residents who have money to spend and don't have to deal with the nightmare of going into Mahnattan when they can simply go to Atlas Park...that's who.
"Atlas Park is looking to attract older shoppers with more disposable income than the average Queens resident"
Who are these people? Glendalers? Middle Villagers? Especially now, who is willing to spend more for crap made in China and Bangladesh because it has a fancier label?
If only the movie theater and restaurants are attracting customers, then this business model is a failure. I was in one of the stores the other day and heard the employees talking about how they would probably be throwing a closing party rather than a Christmas party this year.
Damon is a pompous ass who has turned his back on the community. He is getting what he deserved. Most of the store owners in his mall can't stand the poor little rich kid. Talk to anyone of them to get a real picture of the mall. Once again the Queens Daily News reporters did a poor job of reporting what's really going on in the mall and Damon's miscalculations.
Damon Hemmeroidinger should get off of this blog and try to help his struggling shops.
You mean dressing up as Uncle Sam and giving away dollars bills didn't work?
Damn. I was so sure it would...
A Better NYC said...
"Sorry to break the news to you Tyrone, but Atlas Park has no interest in catering to the needs of 18 year olds. That's what Queens Center is for."
Spoken like a true snooty Atlas Park spin BS artist. They actually convinced themselves that they know what they're doing.
I can imagine what a cold spell like the one we just experienced does for an outdoor mall such as AP.
maybe if damon hadn't rerouted half the buses in the area to his profit losing project, he wouldn't have to cater to tyrone and whoever else doesn't fit into his business model.
Snooty....?!?!?!
Sorry to break it to you pal, but I'm born and raised in Queens and no intention of leaving. If I was snooty I would have left the borough a long time ago.
It's just nice to have Alas Park as an alternative to the chaos surrounding Queens Center and Sears.
Bottom line if you don't like Atlas Park (or can't afford it) don't shop there. But don't try and ruin it for the rest of us.
Damon was born and raised in FHG.
Speaking of which, if that is their target demographic, why reroute every bus EXCEPT the Q23?
Please don't give them any ideas!
Some of you people are stupid. Would you rather have a QC mall in your neighborhood that looks like a 3rd world bazaar on the weekend or Atlas? This place is there now and you probably won't be able to get rid of it, why not support it to make it better instead of tearing it down and possibly turning it into a true neighborhood killer.
All you people who are looking for Altas mall to fail will really be crying if it does fail and true shit moves in. Then you will really be bitching.
Also it looks a damn site better than the original Atlas terminals did!!
The only thing I see wrong with this place is the management and their choice of tenants. They do need stores that are more main stream. Like Eddie Bauer, Talbots, Gap etc. Some of the stores now are not the normal upscale stores they think they have.
And yeah they aren't looking to cater to 18 year olds with no money. If you were in business wouldn't you be looking for more affluent customers to spend money in your store so you can prosper?
Oh also Glendale, MV etc. isn't the center of the universe (Queens) and Atlas doesn't cater strictly to those neighborhoods. There are other neighborhoods in Queens that aren't that far away where people come from. I don't necessarily like driving out to Bay Terrace all the time. It's not that far but Atlas is a lot closer to my house in Maspeth and nicer than Bay Terrace if you ask me.
Atlas isn't a .99 cent strip mall and isn't trying to be. They just need a few more store choice to really be better...
Look, very few people are shopping for anything at the present time. I live within walking distance of Atlas Park and there seem to be a decent amount of people there. Steinmart has cheapo business clothes for my husband. My son and I like the movie theatre. We occasionally go to Chili's as a family, tho' it is a less attractive option now that the calory counts are posted on the menu! The "Amish Market" is a bit of a disappointment. It is more like a Citarella than an Amish Market-- outa my price range. Cold Stone Creamery sucks! I resent paying for parking after I have spent money there. Borders is Borders. The women's clothing is "eh." But honestly, there are no shops they could put in that would get me spending money, today.
"But honestly, there are no shops they could put in that would get me spending money, today."
You got that right!
I said that from the get-go and was asked if I thought that Glendale people weren't good enough to shop at "upscale" (overpriced) stores. I said they tend to live within their means and have been proven right. I said AP needs a better mix of stores to appeal to more of the people from the neighborhood. Kids, wherever they live, are always going to go to the movies. And with moviehouses closing everywhere else, this one is attracting customers it wouldn't normally attract. So why not bring in stores that will appeal to those who actually have disposable income - teens? A bookstore is a good start. Damon and Co better face the fact fast that the days of mom and dad bringing home big bonuses are over and won't be coming back anytime soon. Appeal to workers in nearby hospitals. Appeal to the civil service workers who work nearby. If you aren't providing transportation from Manhattan, like Ikea did early on, then stop trying to cater to people with Manhattan lifestyles. It's the people in the surrounding areas who are going to do most of the shopping there.
Alas, Crappy, the days of working class and middle class shopping in places like Pennys or Robert Hall or Woolworth are over.
Unless you are a poseur your demographic is treated like white trash or fresh off the boat immigrant.
Queens has been driven down and ground up like dogfood for so long that a place like Atlas just doesnt fit in.
Look at Jamaica, Flushing or Astoria. Used to have merchandise that was comproble to Manhattan (your read that right)
Now? The local shopping areas are shot to hell and anyone who doesnt want to look like they live in a housing project or goes to the clubs on Roosevelt, hop into cars and go out to the island.
Its true. Take a look at the branches listed on the stores when the ladies come on the train after shopping.
East NY, Corona, the Hub, Steinway St., downtown Brooklyn
Now all the same.
A Better NYC said...
"Bottom line if you don't like Atlas Park (or can't afford it) don't shop there. But don't try and ruin it for the rest of us."
Listen Damon, I certainly can afford Atlas Park. But what the hell is there? It's dying because of your target and location, not on the main drag. Also your decision to build a California style outdoor mall in Queens, NYC is just plain dumb. You thought if you build it they will come but you were wrong. And all of the giveaways and publicity stunts won't work because you are not reaching your target audience.
As for ruining it for the rest of us, how am I doing that? By rerouting buses, taking up parking spaces in our neighborhood, building hotels etc., YOU are ruining OUR quality of life.
The fact that Damon calls himself "A Better NYC" sums it up in a nutshell, only Damon knows what's good for us.
What a pompous ass!
"Only Damon knows what's good for us."
please mr. hemmerdinger, please give me a dollar. thanks for the crumbs mr. hemmerdinger.
thanks for treating our neighborhood like a doormat.
Atlas Park has nice-looking buildings, a great mix of retail shopping, dining and entertainment - of course the Queens Crap complainers hate it. It is a sad indictment of Middle Village and Glendale if you think the people there are too unsophisticated for the shops at Atlas. Those shops aren't really upscale. This isn't Saks or Bergdorf's. Some of the shops are a step up from cheap stores like Conways or JC Penney, and some are inexpensive niche stores. Sure, an Eddie Bauer or something similar would be good, but Atlas is a great improvement for the area, most people I know really enjoy it, and all the bitter loudmouths can keep complaining about Atlas' popularity.
Atlas Park has nice-looking buildings, a great mix of retail shopping, dining and entertainment - of course the Queens Crap complainers hate it. It is a sad indictment of Middle Village and Glendale if you think the people there are too unsophisticated for the shops at Atlas. Those shops aren't really upscale. This isn't Saks or Bergdorf's. Some of the shops are a step up from cheap stores like Conways or JC Penney, and some are inexpensive niche stores. Sure, an Eddie Bauer or something similar would be good, but Atlas is a great improvement for the area, most people I know really enjoy it, and all the bitter loudmouths can keep complaining about Atlas' popularity.
Popularity? The article is about the site not being popular. Can't read?
"Boutiques" "High End Stationery" "Gourmet Market"
Who are these for? People from Glendale and Middle Village obviously are not interested in these things. Has nothing to do with sophistication. This mall was never meant for them. It was meant for Forest Hills and Manhattan. Those people aren't going there, though. Time to face reality or drastically change marketing.
What happened to building what the community wants and needs instead of building what you want and then lambasting the community for not supporting your folly?
damon is a smug little rich boy who likes to talk down to people. he was handed everything and still managed to screw things up. let's see if you can make it on your own damon. i don't think so. this site has done alot for the neighborhoods of queens, more than your bogus mall failure will ever do.
Attention all pinheads...
I was carefully re-reading all the comments posted and I have no idea how or why some of you think that I'm Damon.
I am not Damon and Damon is not
"A Better NYC".
Just want to clear that up.
Now, as for some of you low class, bitter, cheap, grumpy, bastards...
If you don't like Atlas Park don't shop there.
If you don't like Atlas Park don't shop there.
If you don't like Atlast Park don't shop there.
Do I have to say it again?!?!?!?!?
True, most of the stores in Atlas Park are boutique stores. Boutique stores don't serve the general public. They serve a nich crowd, not the masses.
There will never be huge crowds at Atlas Park.
If some of you out there have no class at all, please, for the sake of Queens...try and fake it just a little.
If you don't like Atlas Park don't shop there.
If you don't like Atlas Park don't shop there.
If you don't like Atlast Park don't shop there.
If you don't like Astoria don't live there.
If you don't like Astoria don't live there.
If you don't like Astoria don't live there.
"If you don't like Atlas Park don't shop there."
We aren't. Perhaps you missed the point of the article. The mall will never survive without the support of the surrounding communities and their tactics are being rejected in the form of non-patronage of their mall.
"There will never be huge crowds at Atlas Park."
That's the one thing you've said right today. And if they weren't planning on big crowds, why did they build so many parking garages AND reroute 2 buses to stop there?
As if the niche crowd takes the bus to Glendale... They would have done better by installing a cab stand rather than a bus stop.
"Now, as for some of you low class, bitter, cheap, grumpy, bastards..."
Now that's our boy Damon!
"If some of you out there have no class at all, please, for the sake of Queens...try and fake it just a little."
That's Damon, or his asswipe. Damon always confuses class with money.
IT'S FUNNY, ANYTIME WE SEE STORIES ABOUT ATLAS PARK MALL WE SEE DAMON HEMMERDINGER, WHY?
NAME ONE OTHER MALL THAT HAS SUCH A POINT PERSON. THERE ARE NONE.
MR. HEMMERDINGER MUST FROM TIME TO TIME FEED HIS INFLATED EGO BY GETTING HIS PUSS IN THE NEWSPAPER. POOR LITTLE RICH BOY WANTS TO BE RECOGNIZED.
"If you don't like Atlas Park don't shop there."
Isn't the point to get people to shop there? See, Damon, this is why you're in a pickle right now.
I am the target audience of Atlas Park.. I work in broadcasting.. make a ton of $$$, I am mid 20's with a town house with a two car garage in forest Hills (Burns street).
But why would I go there when everything I need is at 71st and whatever is not I can go to Blooming dales, which is only 20 mins away.
Soho, West 4th... Atlas park??? sorry we are talking aspirational lower middle class ppl who want to feel like they are in an upper class world.
i do go to Atlas park, to watch movies and food, but really thats it.
Comeon.. guys.. face the facts
With a name like Slick of course you're not going to shop at Atlas Park.
You're still at the point of your life where it's important to be cool and hang out in trendy places.
I don't think you're in Atlas' core target.
And for the last time...I'm not Damon...!
A Wha ?
"Republic of Couture apparel boutique" "Rocky Mountain Chocolate"
(I don’t even know what Couture apparel is)
This is what New Yorkers need ?
How about fresh bagles out the oven into the bag
Anybody remember Alexanders ?
A bakery, Pinball joint, Old Fashioned Deli with good macaroni salad, Just shirts, Ansel House, a good old junk store.
Id rather go shop in Washington Heights
Jeez WTF is Couture apparel ?
-Joe
I preferred the old Atlas terminals hands down.
It gave kids a place to go, ride mini bikes. walk the tracks.
Now hords of trucks and crappy rude agressive people blaze through the narrow MV and Glendale streets.
Some may even get "ideas" for the many quiet streets in that area -- --if you know what I mean.
I remember when the Cooper Ayle House was a shack called "The Wreck"
We used to play there with the old band. Cheapo Jack the owner would give us $300 (alot in 1977)
They put that Aylhouse in it screwed up all the parking and sleeping for everbody in a 4 block radious...Latino Dance music and Tacos WTF??
-Joe
Hi Joe
This is 1981 calling. You left your feather earring and roach clip at Ansel House (street floor Queens Center Mall). I hear there is a great Space Invaders machine at the corner deli.
A Better NYc said
For the last time I am not Damon
That'd what they do on this site --
If they don't like your opinion they label you as a paid hack firbthe opposition.
It makes their complaining and hate so much easier when they can ridicule a real life identity.
Weak form of debate used by the uneducated really
joe has no life and is stuck in a world of 1975-1985 because he is threatened by the modern world like most of the creatins on this site.
Funny how you berate others for namecalling but then do the same thing...
Seems to me the only people who like this fancy retail shopping, starbucks we not born nor belong here.
They need to go home and take both the Beantown Mayor, His Clubhouse croonies and Tel-Aviv owned EuroFucco contractors friends with them !
That be a great start.
Hi, I'm an uneducated resident of Glendale with cheap tastes, and I don't like Atlas with all its nice stores and activity and all the people going there with different tastes than mine. So I'm going to insult them and put down Atlas Park to make myself feel better.
Goodnight.
Genius
so only people who don't belong in this country like Starbucks????
Talk about out if touch
Oh and thanks for the reminder that in addition to being stuck in a world 30 years ago Joe also an avowed racial hater with ideas that only the KKK would agree with
Starbucks is closing.
Space Invaders machine at the corner deli.
---------------------------
I already haveand more
1- Atari Space Invaders (Luner lander 1977 graphics)
2-Space Invaders
3-Sprint 2 car
4 Centerpide
Basement Bar with Blue NYSP globes
----As well as a bunch of Collins R-390, Hammerlunds and 64 Worlds Fair Corvett, Lionel F3 Santa Fe O gauge IF THAT ALSO DISTURBS YOU POLITITIONS !
-Joe
All the change I seen in Glendale-Ridgewood-MV turned out to be for the worse
So now only 7949 starbucks in the US ?
Oh ...that be Atari Asteroids (Luner lander 1977 graphics)
It even has a new bright CRT
These PDAs are a bitch
Do you people not realize that the demographics of Glendale have changed dramatically over the past few years? The gentrification of Bushwick has driven those residents to less expensive Glendale and that is transforming the neighborhood. Thank Amanda Burden, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council for the failure of your mall, Mr. Hemmerdinger.
Take a walk on 79th Street, a block west of the mall and then walk north. Drug dealers, dirtbags, etc. This is the new Middle Village and this is why folks aren't coming to your lifestyle center.
It's just a MALL, people!
Jeez.
The name Hemmerdinger Estates is engraved into several buildings. It was a respected name. Hemmerdinger did a LOT for the community, first by running a good business. Then genius skipped a generation.
Someone got the bright idea to do a "lifestyle center." Now whose idea was that anyway?Mrs. H? They had zero experience in the field, but they were...entitled!
Arrogance took over ruled, and the my way or the highway mentality (similar to Bloomberg) prevailed. The neighbors be damned.
The chickens have come home to roost and the Humdingers are twisting in the wind. No prob, they will get bailouts, tax incentives, variances for next project. They have "insurance.' It's called political connections. That's a real hummdinger!
Hmm, let's take a bunch of unused, dreary warehouse buildings and convert or replace them with a beautiful shopping and entertainment center. They really stuck it to the community there. You all must have graduated at the tops of your classes . . .
Look at that photo of Damon Hemmeroidinger. What a smug piece of shit! Don't feel sorry for this out of touch loser.
Continue not to shop at Atlas, continue to stay away. It will be turned into another Queens Museum. God knows we didn't need any more malls.
during the week atlas looks attractive. try going there on a fri or sat nite, or in the summer when school is out. its overun with foul mouthed arrogant teens and when security throws them out, they are on our streets. our neighborhood has never looked so disgustingly filty as it does now. we have become the graffiti capitol. damon worries about his mall but doesn't give a crap for the surrounding neighborhood. the bridge is the new hangout.clean the bridge damon and clean up the graffiti on it. try walking over it when theres a crowd of kids. no decent person is there after 7PM. who the hell would want to tackle through the crowds of teens hanging over the balcony to get to the italian restaurant. talk to the store employees. kids are ruining their business.
All malls attract teenage SH*T, the bigger the WORSE !
Malls are the #1 place for offspring of Illegels to try and pickup "Blond Chika's" with money and cars.
Any single females try to walk 100 feet inside Roosevelt Field latley ?
..You need a gun in the parking lot, its filled with Souzzi Skels & Guatzican garbage from Westbury, Hempstead and East Meadow ready for you.
(his voters)
PLEASE EVERYONE!
Let's not forget why the Atlas Mall was built. It was not built for the current neighborhood that surrounds it, or even for Forest Hills.
It was built because they planned to build a LUXURY CONDO BUILDING next to it. You don't think they took down buildings so they could hold carnivals in what became a paved over "parking lot" a couple of times a year, do you???!!!
They tried but DID NOT get the variance they needed for such a tall building.
But they have two things on their side: time and money. These will tide them over while they work on getting the variance.
Mark my words: in 5-10 years, there will be at least one condo tower next to the mall. The Q23 will have been rerouted. There will be a LIRR stop in Glendale. The surrounding neighborhood will also have condo towers going up in places that used to be industrial.
THIS IS WHY I AM NO FAN OF THE HEMMERDINGERS.
I bought a house in a quiet, residential neighborhood that is being ravaged piece by piece, slowly but surely, by the inappropriate development of the Hemmerdingers, along with the monkey-see monkey-do development that is sure to follow.
People don't shop at the Atlas Park Mall because much of the merchandise is overpriced and there's a limited selection. Sure they'll get the movie goers and a few restaurant patrons but that's it.
Sorry Atlas, but it's just not worth the trip.
I think the mall is beautiful. I like the stores and like to shop there.
I am happy that it is in my neighborhood.
Borders is the only (decent) bookstore in the Middle Village/Glendale/Ridgewood area. It's a dreadul shame that beer has been leaking from Chili's Bar & Restaurant into Borders for the last three months.
We finally have a bookstore for the few literate of this neighborhood and its products are constantly soaked in beer.
Maspeth mom says
I agree with HErbie - they plan to build a luxury building next door and if the stores fail. How easy would it be to turn them into condos also??? Look at the lay out - its made for expensive condo living - just like to FLorida or South Carolina - just no beach.
That would be a pretty place to live even better than shopping.
You bought a house in the middle of New York City. If you want to live in a boring, quiet area that never changes, go move upstate somewhere.
I agree with HErbie - they plan to build a luxury building next door and if the stores fail. How easy would it be to turn them into condos also??? Look at the lay out - its made for expensive condo living - just like to FLorida or South Carolina - just no beach.
------------
Yes, I think this is their longer term plan.
They will convert it to residential, and through infilling make it high density residential.
Then slum.
When I think "high-end condo" I think immediately of overlooking a cemetery and freight tracks in Glendale.
Borders is definitely an asset to the community; a terrific place to shop-- and by that I mean BUY, not just stroll around as I do in most of that foolishly conceived mall. Glendalers seem to like books. Damon and Dale are the Bouvard & Pecuchet of Glendale--stumbling, bumbling amateurs without a clue, who do not know that they do not know.
"I think the mall is beautiful. I like the stores and like to shop there.
I am happy that it is in my neighborhood."
That should put Atlas over the top.
"You bought a house in the middle of New York City. If you want to live in a boring, quiet area that never changes, go move upstate somewhere."
or to FHG like Damon.
Joe also an avowed racial hater with ideas that only the KKK would agree with
--------------------------
Im not a member, however the KKK does thrive in Suffolk county due to the vast amount of people killed, robbed, raped or mamed by illegel squat monsters (more per then people in Iraq)
Be warned, before you corporate folks decided to jump on the “Diversity” bandwagon, Diversity has replaced MERIT.
Very few dare step up to say why for fear of being fired off as a racist.
I myself dont give a shit what some Yuppie or Hindo transplant dumping goat carcuses or Mezcal on some beach thinks
As Diversity becomes it's the straight, white male who suffers the most.
Its Straight white males who are intentionally passed-over for jobs and promotions.
When “downsizing” takes place, its again straight, white males who are cut loose.
Now the last straw - and far the worse betrayal
The intentional use of illegal aliens and the intentional importation of foreign, cheap labor under the H1-B Visa system.
Companies now send their Human Resources people to seminars offered by law firms so they could learn precisely how to disqualify Americans for available jobs, in favor of importing cheap labor foreigners!
Now vast numbers of unemployed Americans, unable to pay their mortgages after losing jobs, began defaulting, causing foreclosures to rise even more.
Vast numbers of illegal aliens who were also given mortgages. Banks (under gunpoint by the goverment)feared discrimination and being labeled racists if they declined to lend or honor bogus established forms of ID).
Illegal aliens defaulted 10X MORE on their mortgages.
This caused even more foreclosures and the mess we have now.
All this crap was caused by Diversity and greed !
That what you support when you want shopping malls, fast food and devolopment!
Anybody who refuses to agree with that alway screams RACIST, KKK etc
Its expected.
The liberals also try to brainwashed this into teenagers at schools today
wow strong racism...
true story is this
The stores are over priced and bad.
they want a high class image... then bring high class stores.
Gucci, Fendi, Brooks Brothers, etc... don't give me Jos A Bank.
What I am saying is anyone with $ will be going to city either for work or for pleasure. If not we are in Long Island, why in the world would I go to Atlas park.
Listen... the reason the article is written is because it is a failure.
I love this mall too. It is a lovely place to shop, walk around, eat, and go to a movie. I am extremely happy it is in our neighborhood.
If you don't like it... go shop somewhere else. A place that suits you 99 cent store mentality.
Joe says "As Diversity becomes it's the straight, white male who suffers the most.
Its Straight white males who are intentionally passed-over for jobs and promotions."
People like Joe like to blame crime on minorities and conveniently overlook the fact that the Wall Street big shots and Republican free marketers who destroyed the economy and robbed people of their 401Ks are pretty much 100% white males.
Perhaps the fact that your very poor command of the English language, even as a native speaker, makes you appear ignorant is the reason you were passed over for jobs and promotions.
Atlas has brought some much needed splendor and innovation to the borough of Queens. Name anything in Queens old or new, that has such an inviting space for the public--whether one shops there or just sits on a bench on an early summer morning reading a book.
Flushing, Astoria, Ozone Park, Jamaica, Forest Hills, Corona, Jackson Hts, Douglaston, Bayside, Rockaway, Glendale, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodside, Sunnyside, LIC, Woodhaven, Elmhurst, Queens Center, should all take heed. Their shopping districts are some of the filthiest and most uninviting...
It would seem the heyday of the mall and shopping as a way to fill a void in the lives of people, who have not discovered more meaningful ways to feel self worth and personal fulfillment, may finally (thankfully) be starting to wane. I can’t imagine that any mall in Queens or any other part of New York City is doing well, nor will they anytime soon.
It is long past the time when we as a society, culture or a community, should be rethinking our unsustainable economic growth patterns/models in favor ones more tenable for all – not just for the likes of Hemmerdingers and others who act like petty nobility and oligarchs in our neighborhoods.
Instead of mindlessly shopping or killing time at the Atlas Mall, take a little time to watch http://www.storyofstuff.com/ and think.
This is probably the only mall in the U.S. that on Christmas eve you can shop and not wait on a checkout line.
I have been to the Atlas Mall on weekends and there are lots of people walking around doing some shopping.
On the other hand, the shopping mall on the Miracle Mile (Manhasset) was a ghost town.
I hope Atlas does well. It is a great place to go shop and eat.
"On the other hand, the shopping mall on the Miracle Mile (Manhasset) was a ghost town."
That may be because many of the folks who live in that area are connected with Wall Street who have already lost their job or are scared sh#& they are about to.
" Miracle Mile (Manhasset) was a ghost town."
LOL....All the Benzie's And Lexie's must have killed each other over parking spaces !
I live 3/4 of a mile from there off Elderfields and seen some pretty big brawls (clothing tearing and all) between Manhasset soccer moms and Great Neck Princeses.
The 2 towns hate each other to death. Its litarally a war zone between the Iranian & Buk Jews on West Egg and the WASPS & Christians on East Egg.
i heard some bukharian jews are moving into manhasset as well
Yep, they ran out of space in Great Neck and now want to spread across the bay.
The satonic fire ants only go after big property in the private incorperated sections.
Lucky those areas have strict zoning and legacy protection, elected Mayors, boards by the biggest powerful $$ people in the state.
Bill O'Reilly, Genovise and Gambino are some of them.
Nobody wants Bukharian's in the incorperateds not even the Greeks and Iranians.
Allowing 1 Bukharian his or her way is like inviting Dracula or Satan into your home !!
More come and scream discrimination with lawsuits when they dont get the same treatment.
There are some in Port Washington and a slew of BoogMcMans on Shelter Rock road (North of the Whitney Estate)
The Payson Estate church with help from the Clinton lawyers sold out to a devoloper.
Some 80 acres of wetland behind N Shore hospital but thats not really Manhasset.
All those BoogMcMans smell like mildew, walls cracking creeks running threw the basements LOL.
Most work at N Shore Hospital we dont have to look at them. There kids ride blue buses with hebrew lettering to special schools
Damon Hemmerdumber: Got any more bright ideas?
The movies, Chilies and Borders that it folks! The retail stores are well Fuddy Duddy - nothing special except the high prices. Parking should be free and it is a royal pain to exit using their automated payment system. The grounds and landscaping is nice. Atlas need to do a better job attracting retail stores people from the neighborhood want - how about normal village store shopping like butcher store, dry cleaners, laundramat and Post office - these will at least be stable and wanted!
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality
Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me...!
"Yep, they ran out of space in Great Neck and now want to spread across the bay."
i wonder how the wasps ans prisses in manhasset feel about that.
I like it the way it is!
"I like it the way it is!"
let's see that makes you and the three other people that shop there.
No Cokie....there are plenty of people who shop there.
It's OK for you to shop somewhere else.....Queens Center Mall perhaps. Big crowds are for some people not for everyone.
I think the mall is beautiful!
The Atlas Park Mall does look good but that's it. Tell me what they have that the other shopping areas don't have?
Right they don't have the crowds.
And yes there is a reason for that. They don't have the stores that people want and they don't have selection. I can do better on Austin Street with MUCH more variety and better prices.
I stopped by today and it was a ghost town. Didn't buy anything but my friend insisted on going there, I tried to warn her. In the end she didn't buy anything either. It was her first time there and she said the same thing I've been saying all along. Not much happening. Sorry.
The stores at Atlas are high end. Shop around and get some really good sales.....high end quality merchandise at sale prices.
If you don't like Atlas don't go there.
PS. I have to say Austin Street has gone way down hill. I had to go to the Verizon store and was shocked at how it changed....and not for the better!
I'll give you a dollar if you shop at Atlas.
"The stores at Atlas are high end. Shop around and get some really good sales.....high end quality merchandise at sale prices. "
High end my ass. Steinmart is the largest store in Atlas and it's a discount store with phony cheap crap and as for cuisine there is no gourmet restaurants.
Atlas pretends to be high end just like the Hemmerdingers.
Bottom line.....if you don't like the mall don't go there. Go find you 99 cent crap stores and shop there.
Some people just complain about everything....GET A LIFE!
Don't just take the Daily News' word for it: This is Black Friday, right?
Since the NYC subway system was originally designed to have its hub in Manhattan, it's much easier to shop there instead of at a backwater retail wannabee mecca like Atlas Park.
Manhattan has far more exciting and varied products to choose from
(in a wide price range) and is much more convenient for traveling (despite Damon's pappa Dale's futile attempt at using his juice to re-route some buses).
The movies and food options are the only things that are really holding Atlas Park up.
But in a faltering economy,
who knows for just how long.
Someday Atlas might shrug and drop that heavy globe from his back.
"Someday Atlas might shrug and drop that heavy globe from his back."
And then it will close and become possibly an even bigger nightmare to the neighborhood.
The massive negative energy here should be turned into positive energy towards making this place better for all.
If you all were so smart (Glendale, MV and surrounding communities) you would try to get together with the Hemmerdingers and make this thing work. Instead of talking about how bad it is and what it doesn't have and what it doesn't do for the neighborhood and try to make this place better for all. And no, tearing it down won't work because that ain't gonna happen, there is too much money involved. You are stuck with it and now you should all work as hard as you can to make it better.
The Hemmerdingers are arrogant and think they know all but they can't possibly be so blind to see that business is NOT that great there. I think even they would see the benefit of working more with the community to make Atlas better for all. Because in the long run the only thing the Hemmerdingers respect is the almighty dollar and making Atlas a better place would net them more money. And it could make the community more happy as well.
Just a thought...
Happy Holidays to all!!!
When this thing first opened, I knew it was a struggle since there were only a handful of stores. I suggested to Damon directly heavy advertising in Manhattan with shuttle bus service from midtown or at least from the subway, ala Ikea. Manhattanites are more the target demographic of this lifestyle center as they have the money to burn and also may appreciate the "get away any day" theme of the mall. They are not coming to Queens normally, and they especially won't if they have to navigate the Queens bus system. So instead, they rerouted 2 local bus lines to the mall...
These folks don't know advertising and they don't know marketing. Rumor has it that the Borders chain will soon be out of business and then Damon & Co are really screwed.
Daaaaaaaamooooooon, oh Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon,
What are you going to Do?
Daaaaaaaamooooooon, oh Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon, Daaaaaaaamooooooon
I understand the property Atlas Park sits on has been in their family for almost 100 years, Deamon managed to lose it through a series of arrogant miscalculations in his first job after school.He is "senior Vice President" and "owner" of the mall, having had all of it handed to him by his family.
I guess the genius did skip a (couple) generations.
Damon is a smug, arrogant little lawyer type that has been handed everything. He is odious. The bit with standing outside the mall handing out dollar bills to the little people was incredible. His grandfather would be ashamed.
Post a Comment