After acts of violence and destruction grew more widespread in the city on Sunday and Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) imposed a curfew on residents, the first in over a half-decade. But that didn’t stop the chaos. One of the many businesses in the city targeted by rioters and looters was one of the city’s most iconic: Macy’s flagship store on Herald Square, which was swarmed, vandalized, and ransacked, while fires were lit in the street outside, before police were able to scatter the rioters.
The sacking of Macy’s took place despite Chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette’s attempt to make the case to rioters that the store was the wrong target.
As the iconic store was being boarded up in an ultimately failed attempt to protect it from expected riots, a spokesperson for the famous retailer, one of the nation’s oldest, explained why they were taking the preparatory action.
“We recognize that Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores are located in the heart of our communities and can be a target to activity surrounding this stressful situation,” the spokesperson told the New York Post Sunday. “We have sustained damage in several stores across the country and temporarily covered the display windows at Herald Square and Bloomingdale’s 59th street on Sunday. We have limited personnel in the buildings at this time.”
As highlighted by the Post, Gennette took to Instagram on Monday to express solidarity for Black Lives Matter protesters and those outraged by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor — and to make the case for sparing his company.
“What is going on in our nation is heartbreaking,” said Gennette in a statement posted on Instagram Monday. “The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor illustrate with painful clarity the need for fundamental change. This senseless loss of life must stop. As a country, we can and should do better to ensure that all Americans are treated equally and fairly.”
The post included the hashtag “BlackLivesMatter.”
When one skeptical follower suggested Macy’s was only posting the message because Macy’s does “not want looting” in their stores, Macy’s replied: “Diversity and inclusion are essential to our culture and core values. Macy’s has a long history of having a workforce that is as diverse as the many communities we serve. Showing up for all of our customers and colleagues is who we are. Check out more info at the link in our bio.”
That response was hit with another critical follower’s reply. “I worked there for 2 years and my experiences determines this statement is a lie… racism and discrimination is the reason Macy’s center city has issues keeping employees…,” the follower posted.
Macy’s responded: “We want all of our customers to feel welcome and enjoy a great experience in our stores, but we haven’t always gotten this right. We’ve implemented training and policies to help solve these issues. And when we are wrong, we take ownership and quickly remedy the situation. Check out more info here.”
Below is footage of Macy’s being hit amid the riots late Monday and police arriving on the scene :
Cops running into Macy's at Herald Square as it was being looted. Hundreds of looters and rioters here with absolutely no concerns about cops being here pic.twitter.com/NItOU7POiL
— Rachel Olding (@rachelolding) June 2, 2020
Swarms of people trying to break in and loot Macy’s. NYC curfew won’t be stopping them tonight… #NYCRiots #nycprotest pic.twitter.com/K8aLDIsAKz
— Daniel McCarter (@DanielMcCarter) June 2, 2020
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