From the Daily News:Sixteen store owners at a foreclosed Queens mall will leave within weeks - threatening the future of the Shops at Atlas Park - unless banks that mortgaged the complex renegotiate their rents, the tenants' attorney said.
The disgruntled mix of eateries, clothing stores and other mom-and-pop ventures also wants the banks - which control changes to leases at the Glendale center - to hash out a plan for months of unpaid back rent.
"These rents are even too high for Manhattan," charged lawyer Boris Sorin, who began representing the tenants in February after mall founder Damon Hemmerdinger defaulted on a loan to two French financial giants.
If the store owners abandon Atlas Park, the mass exodus would leave the Cooper Ave. complex with about two dozen remaining shops and a ghost-town feel as it struggles to stay relevant in the borough's retail scene.
Leaving:
Coldstone Creamery
Simply Fondue
Manor Oktoberfest
Art World
Dance & Beyond
Ibiza Sun Club
My Heavenly Scent
Rosetta Wines
Frankie's Playce
Crazy for Animals
Dresses & Denim
Femme1231
M12ThirtyOne
Stella Gialla
Precise Optique
Park Place Florist
Also from the Daily News:
A French bank with a major stake in the Shops at Atlas Park has been dogged by a probe into improper use of AIG bailout cash and an insider trading scandal that downed a top executive.
Insiders figure the recent woes at Société Générale - which mortgaged the Glendale mall with another bank, Calyon, before the pair foreclosed on the complex this year - are just minor setbacks for the financial giant.
But those negative headlines may add another obstacle to management's pitch for new shopkeepers to invest in Atlas Park - and for existing tenants to stick around - despite the foreclosure and a dreary economic outlook.
In March, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo expanded an investigation into embattled insurance giant AIG to check if banks like Société Générale improperly received billions of dollars in government bailout money.
The probe centers on whether AIG pumped funds intended to wind down complicated credit default swaps - contracts which were blamed for its downfall - to the banks instead, said an attorney general spokeswoman.
But Société Générale's troubles don't end there. Earlier this month, senior executive Jean-Pierre Mustier stepped down after 22 years at the bank, amid an insider trading inquiry by French finance officials.
36 comments:
More sad news. I guess the people in Glendale and Middle Village only want junk stores and cheap pizza places.
I hope these businesses have set aside these unpaid rent $ in an escrow account. Otherwise they are in default and breach of contract. Who told them to sign leases with big rents before ever knowing how busy the mall would be? They are contributing to the mall's demise. Mall owners may want them to leave in order to have a fresh start and a new business plan.
"More sad news. I guess the people in Glendale and Middle Village only want junk stores and cheap pizza places."
The same troll comes here all the time and insinuates the same tired shit.
The targeted demographic for these stores was not Middle Village and Glendale. It was Forest Hills, Jackson Heights and beyond, which is why the buses were rerouted to go there. The experiment failed. Partly due to the marketing failure, partly due to the poor choice of shops, but mostly due to the recession.
No offense to the Mom and Pop stores that are in Atlas but I think one of the problems with the declining, or "never was" business there is the stores do not interest the local customers. When the mall was first opening, everyone was under the impression that there would be some brand name stores like a Gap, Abercrombie, etc. The majority of the people who shop in those stores are the 13-20 year olds who are getting the money to shop from their parents. Now I know you can say the economy is bad. But look at all the 17-20 year olds who are driving around Middle Village in luxury cars and you will see that these kids still have the money to spend.
Lack of advertising has hurt them too. I was in Atlas a week or so ago and saw this nice little restaurant by the Amish Market that I just happened to see by chance (I think it was called Martini Bar or something like that). I never would have known it was there.
Despite a bad economy, people in Middle Village, Glendale, Ridgewood, Forest Hills are still spending money. They just want to spend it in places they know and like.
It's sad. It's still a very pleasant place to visit and something different for Queens. It definitely could have been handled better.
Atlas Park was a great idea for a far different locale.
Airlift it to the sun belt and maybe it can survive!
Other wise it can join the shoppers occupying the nearby graveyards.
Bye bye Damon!
We hate to see you go...we hate to see you go...we hope the hell you never come back.
Now who you gonna blow?
It's a working class community with limited expendable income...especially now!
If discount stores are what's needed then so be it!
The market place has spoken!
It was the stores. It has always been the stores. No one is getting on a bus to go to "Steimart" ot "Joseph Bank".
I'm glad Spokesman Cycles is hanging on. It's a vitally needed service. Atlas Park is also a wonderful, somewhat surreal, bike destination.
I miss the open attitude evidenced by kids playing in the center fountain.
It needs more community spaces though. If they had services and arts, it would become a town square instead of a shopping mall.
It needs more community spaces though. If they had services and arts, it would become a town square instead of a shopping mall.
---
Translation: social service agencies and artworks displaying the diverse! vibrant! commuity.
Latin Amererican music groups by the fountain should bring in a good crowd - and the stores can change to reflect the traffic.
Put a Walmart there and that mall will be thriving in 6 months. People need affordability in these trying times. Walmart is one-stop shopping. If Atlas is smart, they will install the first Walmart in the boroughs and attract shoppers from all over. Once Atlas is thriving, watch all the other well-known stores line up to be there. If the landlords lower the rent, they'll attract retailers.
I don't believe it has anything to do with the fact that people in Middle Village or Glendale only want junk stores.
Let's be serious for a minute.... who in their right mind would pay $90 for a pair of white linen pants when you can get them in Macys for $19.99?
People, regardless of economic staus, enjoy bargains. You want stores that will make money? What happened to the idea of a Lord & Taylor outlet?
That would have made money. The stores in Atlas were overpriced, period, no matter if you lived in Forest Hills or Ridgewood, they were overpriced and you could find the same stuff for much less in Queens Center.
I still think that people would be ok spending more money in stores if they were more familiar with the brands.
We really enjoy the movie theater and Manor Oktoberfest. I agree that more services (maybe doctor's offices or something like that) and an indoor public space would do a lot to attract more people.
I agree the mall needs more household names.
I thought Jos. A. Bank was an actual bank.
Really sad to see it going this way. It was a great destination for families.
Errors made:
1. Too many stores were aimed at a 50+ years audience.
2. Charging for parking. I can understand charging for the quick parking in the center but why give people a reason not to come when you're trying to build a customer base?
3. Failing to do more for pedestrians (the bridge is still too narrow, the market entrance was closed for too long and they never fixed the sidewalks on 80th for people with strollers).
4. Too much hype. They would say a store is opening and it would take months to open.
The people came but they need to give them a reason to keep coming and to choose them over other shopping destinations. Trying to draw in local businesses is good for boutique shops and other offerings but they needed some mainstream clothing stores.
open a bodega in brooklyn or manhattan and in 25 years its a zabars
open a zabars in queens and in 5 years its a bodega.
over and over and over again.
and as long as these people are in power, the only change you will see is the addition of bike lanes.
I heard the deal is not done yet -- maybe if we go to Atlas Park and try to show support and spend a little more over the next few weeks, these stores will stay....
Just a thought! I love many of the stores listed above.. don't want to see them go :(
Anonymous said...
It needs more community spaces though. If they had services and arts, it would become a town square instead of a shopping mall.
---
Translation: social service agencies and artworks displaying the diverse! vibrant! commuity.
Latin Amererican music groups by the fountain should bring in a good crowd - and the stores can change to reflect the traffic.
Why do they have to be Latin American?
Put a Walmart there and that mall will be thriving in 6 months. People need affordability in these trying times. Walmart is one-stop shopping. If Atlas is smart, they will install the first Walmart in the boroughs and attract shoppers from all over. Once Atlas is thriving, watch all the other well-known stores line up to be there. If the landlords lower the rent, they'll attract retailers.
Enough with the Walmart would you!
They dont pay there workers here and they get there products from sweatshops overseas and produce almost zero of their products in the US.
Not to mention this is supposed to be ancale" mall - that is what the community agreed to. A Walmart is a horrible idea for the city and for Queens but if we must have one it belongs in a place like Metro Mall.
hopefully if a new owner comes in they put outlet stores and free parking. if the orginal owner would of done this he wouldn't of went belly up! i don't know who ran the place but they didn't even attempt to pull in better stores.
It's too bad management and the store owners could not get their acts together - yes I blame the store owners too. High prices and lack of uniformity in store hours were just the tip of the iceberg. I went to Simply Fondue the other night with my friends - it was about 8:10 pm and the place was EMPTY. They would not sit us until after 9pm because they wanted to give priority to the reservations. However, they were not booked out so the reservations would have had plenty of spaces. They threw business away.
Atlas Park is just not fun to go to anymore without Orange and the fountain for the kids. Now I see that the carnival is coming back (with their outrageous prices) and the carousel and mini-golf. Why are they wasting money on mini-golf...so dumb.
What a huge waste of money and space. It had so much potential.
The targeted demographic for these stores was not Middle Village and Glendale. It was Forest Hills, Jackson Heights and beyond.
that's a pretty wide range, middle village residents don't economically fit between the beaners of JH and snobs of FH?
Not the "beaners" of JH... the ones that live in landmarked towers.
Anonymous said...
hopefully if a new owner comes in they put outlet stores and free parking. if the orginal owner would of done this he wouldn't of went belly up! i don't know who ran the place but they didn't even attempt to pull in better stores.
Ok enough of being politically correct..... Outlet Stores?!!? Walmart?!?! Obviously you do not live nearby. We do not want any of your ghetto, trash ideas happening in our neighborhood. If oyur good idea is a Walmart or an Outlet Store, just stay the F___ out!
Not the "beaners" of JH... the ones that live in landmarked towers.
They would be on the 45
What a shame to see Atlas Park deteriorate? The Hemmerdingers brought beauty to this area and now it seems in vain.
I miss seeing the kids in the fountains too.
Maspeth Moms says...
I really hate the idea of Atlas closing but the stores were unfamiliar - They need to have brand name stuff so people will know what they are purchasing.
I dont think the people of Middle Village and Jackson Heights have stupid money (buying without looking at the price tag)
The fountain looks ridiculous with the cheap gate around it. Was there last week went to California Pizza, Colwater J Jill and Steinmart. The place looked barren and depleted without all the kids running thru the fountain.
I think that people are attracted to other people,and when they dont see people at the mall, a subliminal message goes off in there head that says if no else is here why am I here?
I hope Tanger comes in and makes a Tanger West outlet shopping center.
Maybe Damon could just stand in front and give out some more dollars "from his savings" to the little people. I don"t know what genius looks like in real estate, but he ain't it.
The reason there are no Walmarts in NYC is because they are dead set against labor unions.
It would be disrespectful to all hardworking union members to build a Walmart.
HELLO, COMMON SENSE TELLS YOU IF YOU USE NAME BRAND STORES THE MALL WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE. LOOK AT BAY TERRARCE, THEY HAVE A GAP, CHILDRENS PLACE, VICTORIAS SECRET, YANKEE CANDLE, EXPRESS, NY AND COMPANY. STORES PEOPLE KNOW AND SHOP AT. REGARDLESS OF THE ECONOMY. PUT A TARGET IN THERE. THE MALL WILL FILL IN MINUTES! TARGET IS ALWAYS CROWDED. THEY ARE RIGHT THE KIDS IN MIDDLE VILLAGE DRIVE AROUND IN MERCEDES AND BMW! THEY CAN SHOP AT THE RIGHT STORES!
It's really a shame, My daugher worked at on of the stores there and she said even the people with monney would come in and look and they wanted to makes deals on merchandise that were alreadyon sale and cheap. They really should put in a tanger mall feel in Atlas, another nice store is a store called the christmas tree shop which is now located at the new tanger mall in deer park and its an awesome store they have quality merchandise but a fraction of the cost and they are are expanding everywhere now. Hopefully something positive will happen and we will still have Atlas, such a beautiful mall. its really a shame.
Orange was great because of the outdoor seating. A nice ice cream parlor should go there. Cold Stone is not my cup of tea. Nice high end outlets would be great for this community, sort of a Woodbury common. Yes people in this area have money to spend. But they work hard for it and try to spend it wisely. They drive their kids to Roosevelt Field for Abercrombie and Holister. Someone just missed the boat when they picked the chains to negotiate with. Give some well known retailors some incentives to come in. the place will perk up in no times flat.
forget the fountain. You want to see kids jumping around in water go to the beach.
The stores are/were all wrong for this area.
Now you have the busses coming in from Forest Hills, but those come from Jamaica first.
Went to the movies one night, felt like I was in the Whitestone Multiplex theater in the Bronx. Got a refund and left.
The whole neighborhood is going down the tubes, it's a shame, it used to be a nice area. I live in MV and feel like I live in the ghetto now.
Might as well throw a few old couches in there where the fountain is, the new area residents will come and hang out.
Post a Comment