Sears, Kmart closing dozens of locations

A list of 79 closings has already been released by Sears Holdings, and neither Queens location was named. Twenty-one more are expected to be announced later with the possibility of more in the future.

The closings represent only 3 percent of Sears Holdings stores in the United States, which total 3,560. Florida, whose economy has been especially hard hit, recorded the largest number of closings at 11, followed by six in Ohio, Michigan and Georgia.

Rego Park Plaza, which suffered a blow with the closure of Circuit City in 2009 — though it was replaced by Burlington Coat Factory — could be hurt with the loss of another store, especially a large retailer like Sears. Frank Galluscio, district manager of Community Board 6, said that losing it would pose a huge economic hardship for the area.

“The job loss that would occur would be terrible,” Galluscio said.

Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5, voiced similar fears about losing Kmart in Middle Village’s Metro Mall. “The Metro Mall has been good to the community, and it would be a shame if they lost one of their larger stores,” Giordano said.

He added that losing the Kmart would be difficult for the community during tough economic times, noting that the store provides essential goods for residents at a reasonable price.

“Both stores seem to do well,” Giordano said. “It would be a shame to lose either of them because the parent company isn’t doing well.”

The announcement from Sears comes at a time when retail work has become even more vital to Queens’ economy. Statistics released by the New York State Department of Labor showed that of the 27,000 jobs that the borough gained in the past year, 15,400 were in retail or sales positions.

A spokesman for the Department of Labor, James Brown, noted that because of the strong retail employment numbers throughout Queens, the loss of a big-box retailer like Sears would not have a huge effect on unemployment numbers across the board. However, Brown said, closing a large store in a mall would cause multiple problems; other stores would lose the foot traffic generated by a large store like Sears, and the mall’s owner would have a hard time finding another tenant for such a large space.

Giordano worries that would be the case if Kmart closed. “It’s a very large store; there aren’t many places that could fill that space,” he said.

Residents expressed sadness over any possibility of Sears closing.

“I’d miss it,” said Bradley Graeff of Rego Park. “I used to go there to get hardware and housework supplies. It was the only place in the neighborhood to get them for cheap.”

An official for Sears Holdings would not comment on the future of any stores not on the initial list of 79 that will be closed.