Results tagged “blackfriday”

Nassau County prosecutors announced today that Wal-Mart will avoid criminal charges for any wrongdoing in contributing to the Black Friday stampede inside a Long Island store that left one employee dead and several others injured. Instead the retail giant will pay out nearly $2 million to community programs and create a fund to compensate victims injured amidst the chaos, as well as instill new crowd-control measures throughout local stores.

A lawyer representing two victims injured in the Black Friday Wal-Mart stampede that left an employee dead has called for control of the investigation be moved to the state attorney general's office. Attorney Bruce Baron sent a letter to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo saying that there is a conflict of interest in the Nassau police department investigating the incident since there is also a civil suit against the county for negligence in dealing with the trampling. Nassau police will continue on the case while Cuomo's office reviews the letter. Lieutenant Kevin Smith told Newsday, "We clearly believe we're a professional police department and we're investigating a matter of criminality here."

Nassau County police offered more insights on what caused a restless Black Friday crowd of shoppers to trample Wal-Mart worker Jdimyati Damour to death. Newsday had an explanation from Nassau Police Lt. Kevin Smith: Apparently people waiting and standing outside the store came into conflict with people waiting in their cars who wanted to cut the line once the store opened, "A whole lot of people started getting out of their cars and made a beeline for that door... It's definitely a contributing factor - the mentality of 'They're not going to cut in front of me.'" As for the lawsuit that Damour's family filed against the store, Wal-Mart said, "We consider Mr. Damour"--he was a holiday hire-- "part of the Wal-Mart family, and are saddened by his death. We have been in communication with members of his family to do what we can to help them through this difficult time. Our associates know that when incidents like this occur, we take care of our own."

The family of Jdimytai Damour, the Wal-mart worker killed in the Black Friday stampede, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the retailer. Damour, a temporary employee hired at the Valley Stream store for the holidays, was trampled to death by shoppers who had been waiting for hours for Wal-Mart to open its doors at 5 a.m. Newsday reports that the lawsuit faults the store for not providing enough security and says Wal-Mart "engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy and mayhem and was otherwise careless, reckless and negligent." (You can see one Wal-Mart Black Friday ad here.) Other parties named in the suit are the realty company that manages the property and the security firm for the store; Damour's family "also filed notice saying it plans to sue Nassau County and the Nassau County Police Department."

After five days of gains, the stock market is looking at a lower open today. CNBC reports, "The major indexes indicated drops approaching 2 percent." Joseph Poon, head of Mcquarie Private Wealth Asia, referred to data from the retail industry, "The market is really spooked I'm afraid. We just have to see some stability… the US consumer is usually the guy that's going to pull us back." While sales were up on Black Friday, both in person and online, there were deep discounts that cut into profitability. The National Retail Federation said, "We take all of this into context and realize Black Friday is not going to save the holiday season. Regardless of retail sales, retail profits are another matter. Everything they sold was at a razor-thin margin." And today happens to be Cyber Monday, the unofficial start of the online holiday shopping season.

All the Thanksgiving advertisements for Black Friday sales were just as successful at drawing out the usual hordes of shoppers yesterday. But the general consensus around town was that the crowds weren't making it all the way to the register as sales appeared to be down on the retail's big annual day. The Post talked to parents at Toys 'R Us in Times Square who said checkout lines were twice as long and that hot toys just weren't as likely to be sold out this year. That can't be good news for retailers who already knew that they'd be taking a hit on returns by offering even steeper sales to draw in consumers who have been MIA of late. At Macy's in Herald Square, even sending out a big celebrity wasn't enough to cheer up the die hards who waited overnight for the store's 5 a.m. opening. "Richard Simmons scares me," a young woman in line told the News upon seeing the fitness guru.

This morning, shoppers apparently broke down the doors of a Valley Stream Wal-Mart, and, in the process, trampled a Wal-Mart greeter to death around 5 a.m. The Nassau County police tell Newsday the store was a "mob scene" and that the worker was a temporary, part-time employee. One witness, Kimberly Cribbs of Far Rockaway, said that other Wal-Mart employees (some of whom were crying) asked shoppers to leave:

Though rumors circulated among the shoppers that someone had been badly injured, people ignored the Wal-Mart workers' requests that they stop shopping, move to the front of the store and exit, Cribbs said.

Continue reading "L.I. Wal-Mart Employee Killed in Black Friday Stampede"

While stores are hoping that Black Friday sales will bring charge-happy shoppers out in full force, Reverend Billy is hoping that people will hold on to their cash. The Rev & Co. were up bright n' early this morning to kick-off their annual Buy Nothing Day at Macy's. At 4:30 a.m. the troupe was "preaching and singing to citizens to accept the Stop Shopping Gospel into their hearts."

I'm only shopping for things that are discounted. Nothing full price."

Investors are clutching their stomachs as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell hundreds of points this morning, momentarily diving below 8,000 (with a 600+ drop) to under 8,000. Right now (9:48 a.m.), it's down 262 points at 8,316 points (down 3%). Nasdaq is currently down 1.5% and the S&P 500 is down 2.7%.

READING: Dave Eggers has delivered two (out of three) great novels, and tonight he reads from last one (which is just out on paperback), What is the What. He'll be at the Strand discussing the book and he'll also give a slideshow presentation from a recent trip he took to Sudan. More info here. Friday // 7pm // Strand Bookstore [828 Broadway] // Free EVENT: We love a good pillow fight, and tonight there's a...

Last Friday some shopped til they dropped, while others stopped shopping alltogether. Both groups saved money, and incase you were one of the ones who did so by abstaining from the almighty sale, check out what you "missed": While the lines were long, it's being reported that sales were down. Seems a lot of people didn't want to leave home and did their shopping online. Video via Glenn Gabel....

As noted earlier today, a number of consumer activists, sweatshop protesters and anti-capitalist agitators have for years been working to turn Black Friday into Buy Nothing Day. Spearheaded by the anti-advertising gadflies at Adbusters, the event calls on individuals to suspend purchases for 24 hours and engage in creative activism to highlight the unsustainable patterns of mass consumer culture. Naturally, New York’s anti-corporate performance icon Reverend Billy is all over this. We spoke with...

Activists trying to turn Black Friday into Buy Nothing Day have their work cut out for them when it comes to consumers like Tom Shea, who waited in line outside a midtown Manhattan Best Buy for 35 hours so he could be the first one inside when the store opened at 4am today. “"If they were selling it, we were buying it," Shea proudly told the Post. His attitude was far from unique; shopoholics like...

READING: FreeNYC points us to a reading at B&N featuring Gong Show guru and possible CIA assassin, Chuck Barris:

Dear Gothamist,

Forget about that lingering cough getting better today or tomorrow. The National Weather Service issued an air stagnation advisory today that will be in effect until Wednesday for the NYC, Rockland, Westchester, and Suffolk areas. Via AccuWeather:

THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION HAS ISSUED AN AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES.

Continue reading "Stagnant Air Advisory for NYC"

Kentile (again!) by Dalton Rooney.

Dunh dunh DUNH! It's the most insane shopping day of the year, thanks to most people being off and feeling that the day after Thanksgiving is an acceptable beginning to the Christmas shopping season. However, some stores were actually open yesterday, giving turkey and football some competition. Some stores opened at 5AM today, others at 6AM. In fact, some people have been flying in from overseas, perhaps to take advantage of the exchange rate!

As mentioned earlier, the American Museum of Natural History unveiled its Origami Holiday Tree yesterday. Although the Origami Holiday Tree has been a tradition at the museum for more than thirty years (see last year's article), it's a good year to get into origami. Let's face it, with Polly Pocket recalled and Nintendo Wii sold out virtually everywhere, all kids may have left to play with this holiday season is wrapping paper.

We're worried that David Blaine has an eating disorder - he's planned his next stunt to take place over Thanksgiving! The illusionist, last seen submerged for days with gross skin issues at Lincoln Center, will be suspended over Times Square for three days. From E!:

The challenge, sponsored by Target to kick off the holiday shopping season, will get underway at 10 a.m. Tuesday, when Blaine is slated to be hoisted by crane to his destination, 40 feet above West 46th Street near Eighth Avenue.

Continue reading "David Blaine's New Wacky Stunt"

Okay, take a deep breath in...and exhale. It's been a doozy of a day. To recap: Millions of New Yorkers managed to (1) figure out how to get to where they needed to without buses or subways, (2) learn how to share cabs, (3) swarm Penn Station like it's Macy's on Black Friday, and (4) complain in new and interesting ways. The MTA and Transport Workers Union are still bickering over things, with various injunctions and lawsuits against the union pending from the city and state. In fact, as we mentioned earlier, Justice Theodore Jones of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn levied a $1 million per day fine on the union for striking, calling it a "sad day" for labor relations. Mayor Bloomberg got angry during his afternoon press conference, saying, "There are no winners in a strike. Everybody is a loser here." Tell us about it! Gothamist was just watching WNBC 4's "special" broadcast, and while Penn Station really did look terrible - apparently 45,000 extra riders took the LIRR today - there was some oaf who yelled (with understandable frustration), "FIRE ALL THE MTA WORKERS - NOW!" If they were all fired, then Penn Station would probably be a mess all the time, mister. We think this AP quote from Brooklynite Kenny Herbert says it better, "It's two arrogant groups not caring that 7 million people are inconvenienced." Word. MTA and TWU - can you just kiss and make up?

Ah, the day after the day after the day of the turkey. Not quite as famous as Black Friday, but still well regarded as one of the slowest news days of the year. Even if things of interest are going on in the world you wouldn't know it because nobody is reading or watching the news (which reminds us, why are you here? It's a beautiful day outside). OK, so now that we've got that caveat out of the way lets get to it...

Anyone who has ever worked in a bar will tell you that Thanksgiving is one of their busiest days of the year- what they don't tell you is that the day, like Black Friday, also begins the Christmas drinking. We thought that there was no better place to start drowning the sorrows that sing Christmas carols than at a bar so festooned with tinsel and lights, it actually makes us wonder if they are hiding elves. From the windows filled with Nutcrackers and angels posed in from of domestic beer signs, to the tiny Christmas trees on every table and the tinsel hanging off every ceiling fan there isn't an inch of the place that doesn't look like the holiday exploded all over it. Our favorite table had a mini-pointsettia jockeying for space with a selection of Quikdraw lottery forms, right under the Budweiser digital clock.

Perhaps it's the effect of stuffing, or just some dastardly American capitalist plan, but the day after Thanksgiving is when everyone thinks they should start Christmas shopping, so people clog up stores and streets snatching up everything they can. Some stores out in the burbs even opened at 4AM! Now the subways can be filled with shopping bags so you can't stand; stores' inventory will be picked over; and people will have that glassy, dead eye, three-mile stare that can only be the result of finding that damn toy for the kid. Speaking of the rugrats, FAO Schwarz was open yesterday to take advantage of tourists and poor, harassed parents. And if you plan on doing any shopping outside this weekend, our only advice is to go early (get in, get out) and keep your receipts. Otherwise, viva online shopping!

With Thanksgiving just moments away, literary events in New York have gone into standby mode. Nonetheless, there are few things happening this week and a few things to keep your eyes on for next week. And, as a little gift to you from the city, it's all free! Happy Thanksgiving.

Did you have any nightmarish experiences while shopping this weekend? What are some of the non-harmful-spray tactics people use to get their goods?

Yesterday, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade went off without a hitch. Spongebob Squarepants, Pikachu, Super Grover, and more friends were guided down Manhattan to Herald Square, accompanied by clowns, marching bands, floats, and other performers. In fact, many people were caught with their coats tied around their waists, what with 64 degree weather. And the lovely weather is credited for making sure 2.5 million people turned out for the parade! The NY Times noted that children would scream the names of balloons to get their attention - funny thing, it's what Gothamist did, except from our living room. The NY Post says that Mayor Bloomberg was "ecstatic" and that his favorite balloon in Charlie Brown. Hmm, that says a lot.