Retailer Reconsidering Rego Park Mall Site

I think Home Depot is making a mistake if they do not go ahead with opening a Rego Park location. There are so many people in this area and their only competition would be Sears. I believe they would do extremely well with a store here.

I was looking forward to the new Home Depot in Rego Park, I'm only 3 blocks away and would have been very convenient. However, the Depot on Woodhaven is also very close and easily accessible.

What the area really REALLY needs is a real super market.... something other than all the crappy Food Bazars, and the like, that are only availble around here.

A nice big Stop and Shop, or similar large national chain, or even a big warehouse supermarket such as SAMS, Costco, BJs would be nice. I think the need for a store like this is far more needed to the residents of the area.

I agreed. I'm conflicted - the home Depot would bring a lot of traffic, but it will be a great convenience to have giant chain for getting things done easily for apt./home. There're too many people living in this area. It's been already congested!

Ken - Rego Park wrote:

I was looking forward to the new Home Depot in Rego Park, I'm only 3 blocks away and would have been very convenient. However, the Depot on Woodhaven is also very close and easily accessible.
What the area really REALLY needs is a real super market.... something other than all the crappy Food Bazars, and the like, that are only availble around here.
A nice big Stop and Shop, or similar large national chain, or even a big warehouse supermarket such as SAMS, Costco, BJs would be nice. I think the need for a store like this is far more needed to the residents of the area.

I hear they have pulled out but do agree that the Home Depot was needed. I've lived for nearly a decade in Rego Park and have watched the few, small hardware stores here close one after another. As a creative Do-It-Yourselfer in this neighborhood of good but aging apartments, it would be great to step out and quickly find hardware or supplies without making a major trip somewhere else (and I can't keep a car for hopping over to the Woodhaven store, either).

My fondest wish is that the new mall will address some quality-of-life issues. Nearby Subway enhancements would be most welcome. I've looked at the architects' website online and seen various sketches that seem to include open-air places to hang out—will we perhaps be able to sit and enjoy a real cup of coffee, access wi-fi on a laptop, or to look at/purchase books? Why must Manhattan, Brooklyn and Forest Hills have the monopoly on these social and intellectual pursuits? It would be wonderful if local residents and weary shoppers could take a coffee break while at the mall or explore avenues of entertainment that are not necessarily electronic. We see that the Starbucks have been closed at both the Target and Atlas Malls. Why don't they have a go here, they'd certainly have no competition from the fast-food/zero-ambiance mentality of our Dunkin' Donuts.

Having worked in design and marketing myself, I know it's only common sense that including a Starbucks, B & N or Borders will help keep shoppers AROUND, instead of forcing them to zip in and out in their cars quickly all day (God help the already-beleaguered Boulevard pedestrians!) Other chains could be considered, but I mention the big ones here because obviously the mall is facing some monetary cutbacks in these tough times, and these chains are less of a gamble because they are already set up for mall environments.

One new thing Starbucks might actually TRY THIS TIME is to offer a decent amount of seating and tables indoors and out so shoppers or residents might desire to become regular repeat customers! The mall might become a place to MEET others to shop with, and all the mall's stores will benefit from that.

It's been a while since I read of the developers' initial plans that were aired to the local community (to help justify/sell the idea of yet another mall being built here), but I haven't seen any sign of Vornado's plans of incorporating other nearby outdoor space for visitors to enjoy. Weren't they suggesting that the park and lot across from the mall (behind Lost Battalion Hall) would be redesigned to give local residents/shoppers much needed trees and green-space, in return for the increase of noise and congestion that the mall will bring? It would be unconscionable if Vornado's only contribution to that community concession is the construction trailers they have had parked in these spaces all that time. I say, if the funds are available, they should follow through on those ideas, and they'll further create a buzz that will attract new residents to Rego. Maybe then it will become economicallly feasible to continue building the mall's residential tower that they now have on hold.

I thought I also read of allusions to letting people have access to the mall's finished outdoor rooftop. The people of Rego Park deserve amenities like these, since they will help us absorb the pollution and traffic of such an overbuilt amount of retail. What do Regoans think about this?—please post your comments! What do you say, Vornado? Will you say, "We'll be happy to break even in regards to recovering our monetary output on the mall," or will you say, "We actually made a different and significant contribution to the Rego Park community."?

Hi, everyone, I heard that Costco will move in to the newly built Rego park center. Is it true? Thanks!

How about a theater? Moved here a few months ago, and where are the theaters? Closest ones are in Forest Hills and frankly, they aren't that great.
Also, I agree the subway entrances needed to be renovated/improved. And OPENED. Why is it exit only in front of Sears?

I never understood why RP could not support movie theaters. I grew up here and we used to have the Trylon on Queens Blvd (heading towards Forest Hills)...now a Bukharian Community Center. The Elmwood, also on the Blvd (across from Target)...now a church.

As I wrote in the Tribune, I have always felt that RP is the poor step-sister of Forest Hills. We have an inferior public library (recently updated but not expanded), little or no park space (the benches by the former Sizzler is as close as it gets), etc.

When politicians campaign, they shake hands up on Continental Avenue. Have you ever seen a public official reach out to his/her constituents on 63rd Drive?(Actually Rudy Guiliani made an appearance at Bens Deli...but that was almost 20 years ago.) We certainly have a comparable dense population but are continually overlooked.

As of now (Oct 5 09), what shops are scheduled to open (and when)....I havent walked by the site in a long time.

I believe Home Depot made a right decision, they pulled out due to it's close proximity of two other HD Locations, one is Glendale, NY (Near Intersection of Woodhaven + Metropolitain) and another two by College Point Blvd. in Flushing, NY and College Point, NY...

No one seems to want to do ANYTHING OF REAL QUALITY in Rego Park. Even the Macy's in the Queens Center Mall is inferior to the Macy's in the city.

I would LOVE a LARGE supermarket such as "Stop 'n Shop" in that mall. The supermarkets on 63rd drive are just "OK".