Amid community unrest, American Place clothing store cleans up its act

BY MATTHEW LYSIAK
SPECIAL TO NEWS

Tuesday, November 20th 2007, 4:00 AM

Now, that's an American Place.

The community spoke, and American Place, a bargain clothing store that opened last month in Bay Ridge and is preparing to set up shop in Bensonhurst, listened.

A week after residents outraged by cartons of cheap clothing on the sidewalk outside the store said "not in my neighborhood," the retailer has changed course and cleaned up its act.

"The outside bins were just a promotion to let everyone know we arrived, but everything is cleaned up now," said American Place owner Raymond Smour. "We like to open with a big bang."

If creating a stir was the goal, mission accomplished. Residents flooded Community Board 10 with complaints after American Place Bay Ridge's Oct. 16 opening, saying that large cardboard cartons with clothing, bedding and footwear overflowed onto the store's sidewalk.

Smour said he was shocked by the uproar, especially since when he had opened his other five stores in the city, there weren't complaints, only consumers flocking to his 99-cent shirts and heavily discounted merchandise.

"I've never gotten a reaction like this before, but now that I know, I have made some changes."

But the timing is far from coincidental. The merchant's concession comes ahead of another anxiety-riddled American Place opening, this one on the site of what had been an 86th St. catering institution, the Oriental Manor.

To fend off problems at the Bensonhurst store, Councilman Vince Gentile (D-Bay Ridge) intervened to let Smour know that South Brooklyn residents don't appreciate a mess.

"They have already taken all their clothing inside, painted the walls and promised to continue to keep everything orderly," Gentile said after meeting with Smour. "They just needed to be brought in line with our community's expectations."

The victory was long and grueling, especially for residents hoping the Bay Ridge spot would become a grocery.

The store, at Senator St. and Fourth Ave., originally was rumored to become a Waldbaum's after a Duane Reade pharmacy closed in August, but when the store's doors reopened, shoppers were instead greeted by the large cardboard bins that quickly became the talk of the town.

But now that American Place is taking its business inside, at least one resident, who called the new store an "abomination" is warming up to the new retailer, albeit with some reservations.

"That's beautiful news, I'm so glad they finally got all that stuff off the sidewalk," said Diane Hunt, 62, who lives down the street. "But I'm still not sure what made them think that was an acceptable way to sell merchandise in Bay Ridge."