Westchester County's Retail Scene Struggling Under Limitations Of Phase 1 Reopening
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The retail scene in Westchester County is recovering, but slowly.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Phase 1 plan allows for limited curbside pickup at clothing and other stores. It's working for some, but others won't recover until even more restrictions are lifted.
Curbside pickup is something new at Westchester's oldest mall, the Cross County Shopping Center.
In coming days, more stores will reopen with social distancing measures in place and lots of signage to make sure shoppers get the message.
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In Downtown Yonkers, window shopping takes on a new meaning at Sneaker World. Customers can't go inside, so they stand outside, point to what they want and take a chance on buying. There's no trying shoes on and no refunds after purchase.
Shopper Nani Graham hopes this isn't the new normal.
"I can't live like this," she told CBS2's Tony Aiello. "I'd rather try on different sneakers, get a chance to figure out which one I want. I just gotta pick what I see and that's not cool."
At least people are still buying sneakers.
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At San Marko Menswear, renowned for dressing Lin-Manuel Miranda and other famous faces, the cancellation of countless proms, galas and weddings is the biggest challenge the Forchetti family has faced since opening in 1970.
"If there's no parties, there's no business at the end of the day. There's no question about that. The fact that Phase 1 is open for retail doesn't really help us any because if people can't have events or parties in catering halls, they're not gonna need our services," Robert Forchetti said.
Work from home has also taken a toll on their bespoke menswear sales.
"People aren't gonna really come and buy a beautifully detailed outfit to stay home and sit on the couch and watch the governor talk," Forchetti said.
The shutdown coincides with San Marko's busiest time of the year. Annual revenue is down 60%.
New York has been on "PAUSE" for nearly 70 days, and there's no measuring how long the effects will linger.
