Macy’s has put to rest rumors that it is eyeing a store on Harlem’s 125th Street, saying that although it had looked at opportunities in the neighborhood in the past, it wouldn’t be opening a store there anytime soon, at a community meeting yesterday.
The store was thought to be opening in a 400,000-square-foot complex on 125th Street on the site of what is now a city and state-owned garage located between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue. The site is slated to be the new headquarters of the National Urban League.
The Macy’s rumors had led neighborhood residents and small businesses to complain about what they felt was an intrusion of big-box retailers into the area, DNAinfo reported.
State Senator Bill Perkins had previously said that Macy’s was going to be an anchor tenant and major investor in the project, according to DNAinfo.
Charles Hamilton Jr., an attorney for the National Urban League, told DNAinfo that the league had discussed a possible deal with Macy’s, but couldn’t make it financially feasible. The league’s president Marc Morial addressed a gathering of Harlem residents last night and confirmed that Macy’s is not a partner in the project, according to DNAinfo. [DNAinfo] – Hiten Samtani