New York City is set for its reopening Monday — but there’ll be nothing grand about it.
A number of coronavirus-weary retailers — including Sephora, Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman — won’t be opening up, even though in-store pickup or drop-off is OK.
“Phase 1 is only going to have a minor impact on retail and retail employment,” said Stuart Applebaum, president of the 60,000-member Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, referring to the state’s four-phase reopening plan. “Most retail workers will remain unemployed.”
He said workers are “frightened” to come back to work over concerns for their health as the city awakens from its coronavirus coma.
Tapestry Inc., the parent company of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, told Bloomberg News that it would wait longer to reopen its shops in the Big Apple, despite having hundreds of stores already open across the globe.
Business coalitions including the Fifth Avenue Association and Times Square Alliance have no details as to which stores will reopen.
“For Times Square, we don’t expect too dramatic a difference from today,” said Times Square Alliance president Tim Tompkins.
Bloomingdale’s on East 60th Street and Macy’s in Herald Square will open for curbside pickup next week, but reps for both stores warned, “We are taking things day by day.”
Barnes & Noble is planning on a slow rollout, too, opening three shops on Monday and another three the following week.
Meanwhile, more than 33,500 non-essential construction sites — including real-estate and office construction — will come back online Monday in a boost to the workforce.
New York City is the last of the state’s 10 economic regions to open under Phase 1 of the four-phase plan.