The Red Hook village on the south end of Brooklyn has been rather quiet since the Dutch colony was settled in 1636. The grand opening there of the 35th IKEA store in the USA, and the first one in New York City, will undoubtedly make this corner a busy spot, especially in its first day.
"The first 35 adults (18 and over) in line at the IKEA Brooklyn grand opening on June 18, will receive a free EKTORP three-seat sofa", announced by the store's PR specialist Ms. Lorna Montalvo.
"The first 2,500 people to visit IKEA Brooklyn on June 18, 2008 will receive a random prize envelope with IKEA Gift Cards ranging from $10 to $250, or vouchers for a free cinnamon bun, hotdog or frozen yogurt." Montalvo also mentioned various other give-aways. Customers can stay in the queue as early as 9am June 16.
Sitting right near the deck of Water Taxi, the Brooklyn store is said to be "First of its kind all over the world" by Joseph Roth, the PR and marketing manager, "IKEA San Francisco also faces the bay yet it's not on the shore so you also see the highway in between."
The June 18 ceremony also will include New York City Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez, Swedish Consul and IKEA North America president Pernille Lopez. 3 Flags of the U.S., Sweden and New York will all be all raised. Entertainment for customers waiting in line will begin at 6 am.
"Just as our store will bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience to Brooklyn and New York City, we are thrilled to be offering promotions to ensure that waiting in line to visit IKEA Brooklyn will be unique as well," said Mike Baker, IKEA Brooklyn store manager.
While guiding the tour at the site of this store-esplanade, IKEA PR manager Joseph Roth did not want to boast the change IKEA has brought to the Red Hook: "We actually installed fences and planted trees, to make the local residents feel that this place remains their familiar."
Roth said that the only difference is that the almost discarded water front has been refurbished and lit. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., this would be a better safer place for local families to linger around, with tens of new chairs, benches, and lights added by IKEA.
While there are concerns about the traffic IKEA would bring to Red Hook, "The reaction (from the local residents) has been very positive in general", said Mike Baker in a NTDTV interview. Mr. Baker expects half of the customers coming from public transportation. During the summer, the Swedish furniture giant will pay 17 uniformed cops from NYPD to keep cars flowing through.
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