The Mall at Bay Plaza at 200 Baychester Ave, Bronx, NY (Google Maps)
Apple, among the first retailers to shutter stores during the pandemic, is opening its first location in the Bronx, adding to 10 it already operates in New York and completing its reach across the city’s boroughs.
The company will open the 10,391-square-foot store on Friday at the Mall at Bay Plaza, south of Co-Op City and between the New England Thruway and Hutchinson River Parkway, according to an agent for the mall.
“We were thrilled that we were finally able to sign a lease with Apple to bring them into the mall and to service the Bronx population as well as the southern Westchester county,” said Jerry Welkis in a statement. He is also president of Welco Realty, whose James O’Brien negotiated the deal.
Malls, some of which had suffered from dwindling shoppers even before by the pandemic, have been hit especially hard in the past 18 months. An analysis of several major shopping hubs across the city found that foot traffic in July remained behind 2019 levels.
The Bay Plaza development, made up of the Mall at Bay Plaza and Bay Plaza Shopping Center, hosts more than two million square feet of retail, entertainment and office space. The mall opened in 2014 and is anchored by J.C. Penney and Macy’s.
