Century 21 to Return to NYC

Century 21, the beloved bargain clothing and accessories store that drew tourists and anyone seeking a good deal for decades, will be returning to New York City only six months after declaring bankruptcy.

“New York City is coming back. New York City is coming back strong,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio at his press conference on Wednesday. The “legendary department store Century 21 is making a New York City come back.”

The mayor praised the Jewish family behind the company for their efforts in to reestablish stores in the city after being hampered by the pandemic.

“I want to thank the Gindi family who have owned Century 21 for generations, who love this city who have created something so special for New Yorkers,” de Blasio said. “This is really a part of life in this city….there’s going to be a lot of New Yorkers who can’t wait to walk through the door of Century 21 again.”

Mark Benitez, who rose from storeroom employee to Century 21 president, celebrated the store’s return.

“This isn’t your average comeback story in retail. Century 21 is not your average retail. It is iconic,” said Benitez.

As the city’s vaccination efforts continue and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, city officials are looking to the city’s economic recovery. On Monday, de Blasio announced Lorraine Grillo to the position of’ recovery czar’ to oversee the recovery from the pandemic.

The city intends to vaccinate 5 million residents by June, and hopes once a certain normalcy is achieved, New York City will become the must-see tourist destination it had been prior to the pandemic.

“You’re going to see an explosion of pent-up demand, New Yorkers going out all over the city, spending their money to help New York City come back,” de Blasio promised. “And then you’re going to start to see visitors come back and you’re going to see people wanting to be here and the life of this city coming back more and more in 2021.”

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smarcus@hamodia.com