“Just do it! Or wait…maybe don’t.” That’s what neighbors of the new Nike store in Soho seem to be thinking as they deal with massive crowds right outside their homes.
Last week, Nike opened a 55,000-square-foot store at 529 Broadway and according to residents, the shop has attracted unruly hoards.
“I was sitting in my [home] office with the windows closed when all of a sudden I heard all this crazy screaming,” Pete Davies told the New York Post. “It looked like a nightclub, not a store. There were big guys like bouncers out front yelling and pushing people.”
Nike’s newest store opened its doors November 18, allegedly clogging the street with rambunctious sneakerheads. The crowds are apparently spilling over to other buildings and blocking entrances, the doorman at 532 Broadway told the Post.
And locals are concerned that Nike’s weekly “Swoosh Saturdays,” which brings athletic events and celebrity talks to the store, will only increase chaos, according to the Post.
This isn’t the first fight Nike has had with worried Soho residents. When Nike began construction two years ago some accused the developers of exploiting a zoning loophole by labeling the project an alteration instead of a new building. [NYP] –Christopher Cameron