Brooklyn welcomes J.C. Penney

Brooklynites gathered in the wee hours on the morning of Friday August 29 at the Gateway Center on Erskine Street for the grand opening of Brooklyn’s newest store, J.C. Penney.

“The new Brooklyn store not only solidifies our presence in New York, it also signifies another milestone in J. C. Penney’s turnaround,” said company Chief Executive Myron Ullman III.

The 124,000-foot store will offer a full-service Sephora beauty center section featuring a wide assortment of make-up, skincare and other products, and will also feature its first completely redesigned Modern Bride® fine jewelry department.

In addition, the Brooklyn location will also offer separate footwear zones for men, women and children across from their respective apparel departments and most shoes will be available via open sell. This will allow customers to find their favorite footwear quickly, and a new shoe clearance room will allow customers to find great bargains for various shoe styles.

The store will also continue J.C. Penney’s long tradition of energy conservation by using L.E.D lighting within the store, and radiant heating in the dock area to reduce natural gas reliance. All these changes will make the Brooklyn store use 45 percent less energy than most J.C. Penney stores.

As part of its opening ceremony, the store gave away free bags containing Sephora product samples to the first 250 customers in the store, and a JC Penney gift card with values up to $100. There was also a presentation of a $5,000 grant to United Community Center for their services to residents of East New York, along with a grand opening block party on August 30 featuring local foods, exciting rides and entertainment for the whole family.

“Our new location at Gateway Center puts us in the middle of an exciting shopping district, and  our entire team is excited to deliver a truly memorable customer experience,” said J.C. Penney Brooklyn Store Leader Missy Ioanna.