Bullseye’s paw prints can be found on East 116th Street leading you straight to Pleasant Avenue where you will find his new home. The mascot for the retail giant Target was on deck early Sunday morning to greet hundreds of eager residents and shoppers, who lined up as early as 6 a.m. for the grand opening. It’s the first Target store in Manhattan, and according to Target’s spokespeople, it’s been in the works for more than a decade.
“We have been working for 13 years, trying to open this location,” offers Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of East Coast stores. “The [community] has been so great embracing us. [In return,] Target donates 5% of our profit; this is more than $3 million per year. Also, we have local designers who will give 5% of their profits, as well.”
In celebration of the grand opening, fashion designer Stephen Burrows, internationally-renowned Chef Marcus Samuelsson, and husband and wife designers Isabel and Ruben Toledo have created three collections for fashion and home. For a limited time, 5% of the purchase price of their creations will benefit local community-based organizations: The Funds for Public Schools including the library at PS 18 and The Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem, and El Museo del Barrio, respectively.
The new store has played a major part in reducing unemployment in the community.
“We have given jobs to 450 people in the community. There’s a tremendous amount of opportunities for career advancement from team members being promoted to managers, and managers being promoted to executives,” offers Rob Stermann, the store manager, who has been with Target for 11 years.
The new Target joins Costco, a membership-based wholesale club, Best Buy, consumer electronics and entertainment software retailer, and other stores at the East River Plaza. The 174,000-square-foot store has merchandise tailored to the neighborhood, has a generous selection of multicultural offerings including Spanish language and Ebony greeting cards, Gospel and Latin music, Spanish language books and movies, religious candles and a large assortment of multicultural dolls.
Target arrived in New York City’s outer boroughs in the late ‘90s and now has nine stores in the region. It plans to open another one in Manhattan in the next three years. It will be smaller — 60,000 to 80,000 square feet, less than half the size of the East Harlem location. —yvette caslin
