It?s been almost five months since Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast and some businesses are still rebuilding or just getting back on their feet. Some of the hardest hit areas were the low-lying areas closest to the rivers flanking Jersey City, the Hudson and the Hackensack.
Both of Jersey City?s malls, Newport Centre and Hudson Mall, are located near the Hudson and Hackensack respectively, and several businesses near each sustained significant damage after the storm.
As tides rose during the hurricane on Oct. 29, waters from the Hackensack that devastated areas like Society Hill and Country Village (small communities near the Greenville and West Side neighborhoods) also flooded Hudson Mall, located at 701 Route 440 (seen at right).
While water damage and power outages crippled the mall for weeks, most stores were able to reopen between Nov. 16 and 20. Some stores, however, like family shoe retailer The Shoe Dept., suffered severe water damage and had to completely renovate. New carpet, shelving and counters had to be installed at the store before it reopened in late November on Black Friday, Nov. 23, a day commonly called the biggest shopping day of the holiday season and often, of the year.
Other stores had it worse. Bath and Body Works, for example, was gutted after the storm and remained closed for over four months, reopening only two weeks ago. Kid City, a discount children?s clothing store not attached to the indoor mall but located within the complex, only reopened last Thursday on March 21.
This hasn?t stopped Hudson Mall?s plans for improvement, though. Hudson Mall Cinemas, which completed renovations just before Sandy struck, rebounded quickly and has been open, regularly screening movies since the mall reopened in November.
Some new tenants are also slated to come to Hudson Mall, including Retro Fitness, a 14,200-square-foot health and fitness club with a wide variety of health equipment and services including treadmills, stationary bicycles, elliptical machines, weight lifting equipment, professional personal training, and a juice bar. While the gym won?t open until May, a kiosk near the mall?s front entrance allows visitors to sign up for memberships in advance.
Also opening this fall is 30,600-square-foot discount retailer Big Lots, which will be located in Staples? old location outside the main mall, near Marshall?s. (Staples is now attached to the rest of the mall, but has its own entrance.) Big Lots offers seasonal products, health and beauty items, furniture, housewares, toys, electronics and more at reduced prices.
?We are making good progress on Hudson Mall?s repairs, following the damage from Hurricane Sandy,? says mall manager Steve Trivedi, adding that other retailers like Asian Market and new restaurant Asian Fusion will also be coming to Hudson Mall.
On the other side of town, the hardest hit areas were outside Newport Centre by the Hudson River Waterfront. For example, the Newport Veterinary Center, which suffered flooding from the Hudson River, reopened only two months ago.
Skylark on the Hudson?a ?fine diner? (seen at left) owned by restauranteur Constantine Katsifis, who opened the original Skylark Fine Diner and Lounge in Edison with Chef Craig Shelton in 2006?reopened in mid-January after suffering about a reported $200,000 in damages.
Katsifis, who opened the restaurant last summer, originally invested $2 million in his concept restaurant which aims to merge high-quality dining and classic Jersey diner eats. His dream was nearly washed away by the hurricane.
?We came back 24 hours after the storm and it looked, as you can imagine, like a river ran through it,? he says. ?We were insured for some things, but not flood insurance. Altogether we had about $100,000 in unrecoverable losses and spent about $200,000 on repairs.? (The post-repair interior can be seen, bottom right.)
Both the biggest challenge and the biggest blessing about the storm was a chance to restart, he adds. After a long search for a chef who could latch on to Katsifis?s concept, Skylark now has a new chef, Darryl Harmon, and several new staff members in addition to about half of their old crew. (Many of the original workers, Katsifis says, moved on to other jobs while the diner was closed.)
There are some menu changes, too. ?We?re reintroducing high-quality comfort food instead of just well-executed steak and seafood entrees,? says Katsifis, noting that two of their best-sellers are tomato soup and roast chicken, as simple as it gets. ?We want to present our dishes very traditionally and let the ingredients speak for themselves.?
Other goals include more daily specials; incorporating more fresh, local ingredients; and getting back their customers base. Overall, Katsifis is trying to move forward. ?I try not to dwell too much on things I can?t control, like the weather. Look, you have to make the best of what you?re dealt with. We?re doing our best to recover strongly and be better than ever.?
The mall, Newport Centre, located at 33 Mall Drive W, itself was not majorly impacted by the hurricane. It reopened on Nov. 1, the same week of the storm, and was one of the major safe, warm places where families left homeless or powerless by the storm could charge their electronic devices, get food and shop for critical items.
Since the storm, Newport Centre has seen a period of growth and change-including several new stores.
New additions include footwear retailer Call it Spring on the first floor in the JC Penney wing taking the place of Bakers and accessories shop Icing (a sister store to Claire?s aimed at older girls and young women) on the second floor in the same wing. Shoe and accessory store Clarks will also be opening near Pandora and the former location of the recently closed Disney Store.
The food court also has some new tenants, with vegetarian and Middle Eastern-inspired Crisp and Qdoba Mexican Grill.
Other retailers have relocated to new areas such as Yankee Candle, moving from their first-floor location in the Sears wing across the mall to a new 1,185-square-foot space on the second floor near Coach. Victoria?s Secret line Pink, which is geared toward college-age women, will soon have its own space on the second floor.
They have also regularly hosted special events in their Center Court (for example, kids can take pictures with the Easter Bunny through Saturday, March 30 at 8:30 pm). They also recently hosted a Be the Match Registry event to help find possible bone marrow donors for many in need.
Despite large setbacks, both commercial areas are continually recovering and most stores in both Newport Centre and Hudson Mall have now reopened. At a time when many other businesses and neighborhoods in the city and region are still rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy, the perseverance of business owners in both areas will likely serve as an inspiration and model for recovery.
Top photo by Summer Dawn Hortillosa, Skylark photos courtesy of Constantine Katsifis
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