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The ticker-tape parade, which began at Battery Place and proceeded along Broadway to Worth Street, attracted between 500,000 and one million spectators, one-third of which will be coming from outside of New York City, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office. The city and its businesses, the announcement said, bilked in between $19 million and $38 million.
“The Giant’s Super Bowl victory was an incredible win for our City – and now, tomorrow’s ticker tape through the Canyon of Heroes will be another big win for New Yorkers and our small businesses,” said Bloomberg in a statement.
On Monday evening, just hours before the parade began, many Downtown store personnel were busily preparing for the notable surge in customers, some of whom were frequenting the Broadway shops as early as dawn.
“[Today] is the busiest day I’ve ever personally been a part of at Modell’s,” said Kevin Corssan, general manager of Modell’s Sporting Goods at 150 Broadway. “When we get a championship, you work very long hours, and you work very hard during those long hours, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Corssan was preparing for a 6 a.m. opening to accommodate the hoards of Giants fans that came in to purchase roster t-shirts, foam fingers, towels, and other paraphernalia bearing the football team’s logo. The manager recruited 15 additional salespeople from other Modell’s shops in the Tri-State area to join Tuesday’s staff.
“A lot of people take tomorrow off and want to get their parade gear and get a good spot out on Broadway,” he said. “Between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m., we’ll expect anywhere from 3,500 to 4,000 customers.”
Romeo, manager of Suspenders Restaurant at 111 Broadway who declined to give his last name, was equally stoked about the parade, which he expected would draw between four and six times the number of diners the restaurant usually sees on a Tuesday.
“It’s great for the city, it’s great for the economy, and it’s something to celebrate, which we all need every now and then,” said Romeo.
Anticipating a sizable morning crowd, the restaurant opened Tuesday at 8 a.m. instead of its usual 11 a.m. and offered a special breakfast menu to the early risers.
“We’re preparing to have about 20 percent more employees and will offer a limited menu from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Romeo. “It makes it easier on the kitchen for such an increased volume of patrons.”
Not all Broadway businesses, however, were expecting to capitalize on the parade. Yahaira Minaya, store manager of Easy Spirit at 183 Broadway, said she could count on her fingers the number of customers that trickled into the shop during the New York Yankees’ 2009 ticker-tape parade.
“It’s actually going to affect me, but not in a good way,” said Minaya. “A lot of people we get are from [nearby] offices, and they don’t want to come out until [the tourists] leave.”
As for the tourists themselves, Minaya said, “It’s a women’s shoe store, so I don’t think they’re going to be coming in.”
Mayer Laleh, general manager of Broadway Kosher Café at 160 Broadway, said he would be forced to close his restaurant until 1 p.m. that day, when the parade ended.
“People are standing next to the door and don’t let anyone come in,” he said.
Marty, who sells gyros, hotdogs and chicken over rice in a cart stationed across from 140 Broadway, said he was preparing to stay home on Tuesday, since the cops ordered he and the other vendors to pack up shop during the parade.
“They told us we wouldn’t be safe here because it’s going to be too crowded,” he said.
Marty, for one, wasn’t happy about the prospect of losing daily profits of between $400 and $500. “They should let me stay,” he said, “or at least pay me for the day I’m not working.”
