The 160-year history of Brooklyn’s flagship Macy’s store is coming to a close.
The retailer announced the closure of the historic 422 Fulton St. location last week, alongside 65 other stores by the end of the year. The Macy’s in Sheepshead Bay, at 2027 Emmons Ave., will close as well.
“I can’t believe this place is going away,” said Vince Ross, who lived in the area 40 years ago and remembered when it was called Abraham & Straus, or A&S.
The Downtown Brooklyn site has gone by several names since it was founded by Joseph Wechsler and Abraham Abraham in 1865 – Wechsler & Abraham became Abraham & Straus in 1893, and then took on the Macy’s mantle in the mid-90s.
The location famously pioneered live mannequin modeling in the mid-70s, in which academically accomplished high school students from Brooklyn and Manhattan were hired to pose in store windows wearing designer fashions. The spectacle reportedly caused traffic disruptions.
Today, the 440,000-square-foot space remains an anchor in the downtown area's main shopping district.
“I used to shop here when I was a little girl,” said Glo C., who lives near the store and declined to give her last name. “It's so sad that they're closing, because they’ve been open for so long. All these people are losing their jobs.”
The closure is part of a larger strategy by the retailer to close 150 under-performing stores over a three-year period. The company plans to open 350 smaller locations, called “go-forward” stores.
“Closing any store is never easy, but as part of our Bold New Chapter strategy, we are closing underproductive Macy’s stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go–forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service,” said Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc.
The Fulton Street store previously downsized in 2015, when the company sold off its upper floors as office space. St. Francis College, a private Franciscan college based, remains a tenant at the location.
The site itself is now headed for redevelopment, according to The Real Deal, which announced last week that a group of investors, headed by United American Land, have "big plans" for the location. The developers told the publication about the possibility of new retail and entertainment spaces at the site.
“I don't know why they're closing it,” said Izel Williams, a Bronx resident who works nearby. “When I leave, I come in here. You know, it's convenient, and I'm not too happy about the closure.”
Julian Thorn, a Clinton Hill resident, has been a faithful shopper at the location for 32 years.
“I just think that we needed a nice Macy's downtown, especially with all the new development. I thought it was the perfect store, I really did,” said Thornton. “Hopefully we'll have a store that will give us the same kind of prices.”
Thornton said the community values the store not only for its family-friendly prices, but also its safe and convenient location to the Clinton Hill and Fort Green communities. He visited the store over the weekend to do his shopping for next Christmas, just in case.
