Big Apple Outlets to close in February

Staten Island Advance/Irving SilversteinThere are plenty of empty booths in the Big Apple Outlets, which has announced it is going out of business on Feb. 15.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- There was a time when every stall at the Big Apple Outlets was occupied. A far different scene exists today: Rows of empty spaces, resembling vacant storefronts, amid the few vendors who remain.

“It’s sad,” said jeweler Simon Pan, co-owner of the flea market with Milt Adams and Pat Spinoso. “The economy is getting worse and worse. The [media] says it is better and better, but we don’t see it.”

The partners sent a letter to their vendors last month informing them of the inevitable: Big Apple Outlets, a fixture at 1399 Forest Avenue in Port Richmond for 16 years, will close its doors in February.

“Due to rising costs and expenses, we can no longer afford to stay in business,” the letter read. “Our last day of business is going to be Feb. 15. All merchandise and furniture must be cleaned out by Feb. 23. All booths must be left empty.”

Adams, who sells clothing, socks and pajamas at the front entrance, blamed skyrocketing real estate taxes and utility bills, and the inability to retain vendors in a tough economy, for the outlet’s demise.

“Our landlord has been very good, giving us rent deductions here and there, but when our lease option came up, we decided it was time to close,” he said.

The news has left vendors worried about their own survival.

“I am still looking for a new location,” said Sean Darvish, a Queens resident who relocated his jewelry business to Big Apple Outlets from Manhattan six years ago when the lease expired on his own store. “I’d like to stay on Staten Island, but all my options are open.”

For Suzy Ishmael, the closure has presented a chance: She will rent a storefront down the road in the shopping center that houses Blockbuster.

“I am nervous, but things happen for a reason,” said Ms. Ishmael, who owns the Avon Shop and also works full-time at A Very Special Place. “This may be a blessing in disguise and a chance to take an opportunity. Otherwise, I might have never left the nest.”

Big Apple Outlets opened in May 1994 after the Big Apple Bazaar, its predecessor on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor — now home to Kohl’s — closed a year earlier. Pan, Adams and Spinoso, longtime vendors there, partnered to find a new location.

Many of the original vendors, who sold clothing, crafts, electronics, auto parts, jewelry and other goods from 200 stalls followed them. A handful still remain.

Throughout the flea market, steep discounts are advertised, up to 70 percent off, to entice shoppers for one last holiday season.

Grant City resident George Guzman took advantage of those deals last week.

“I like to come into one place,” he said. “Everything is here for you and the people are so friendly. I am very sorry to see it go.”