Most neighborhoods would kill for an Apple Store, but if you’re an elitist living in New York City’s Upper East Side, the thought of Apple fanboys camping out near your five-story townhouse is just absolutely horrid.
Residents and businesses of the posh neighborhood are banding together in opposition to the construction of an Apple Store that might attract flocks of peasants along with all their shouting, and screaming, and barbecues. Ewww!
Apple plans to add special features to the swanky store, but according to Herbert Feinberg, who is leading the cause to keep Apple out of the Upper East Side, that’s not enough.
Madison Avenue “has been a fine retail corridor that doesn’t generate the crowds that Apple does,” Feinberg told The Wall Street Journal. “The Whitney [an art museum which relocated from Madison Avenue last year] didn’t do that at all except for Friday events, but it was a dignified line. No shouting, no screaming, no tents, no sleeping bags, no barbecues.”
Apple still plans to go through with the new store despite the protest. To make the crowds more bearable, the company says it will have an earlier closing time and private shopping.
“The Upper East Side store is designed to serve an important role in the neighborhood and respect the surrounding community,” Apple told the Journal. “In this case, that means a smaller footprint, earlier closing time, and private shopping options for customers.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal
