It’s almost time for voters to march to the polls to pull the lever for a president, and recent weeks have been rife with debates and differences of opinion. But one thing that every shopper in West New York can agree on is that a sale is always a good thing. Savings, not politics, will bring residents out for the Urban Enterprise Zone-sponsored Election Day sale on Sunday Oct. 29.
“Well, I really don’t know much about politics and I don’t even know if I am going to vote” said West New York resident Marie Ortiz as she was walking down Bergenline Avenue last week. “To tell you the truth I don’t like either [candidate] much, but if I have a opportunity to save some money, that is fine by me.”
The Election Day sale will be held on Bergenline Avenue, the hub of West New York’s community of 38,125 people. UEZ Coordinator Oscar Miqueli described Bergenline Avenue as “one of the most comprehensive outdoor malls in New Jersey.”
Selected stores will participate in the sale, which will last all of Sunday.
Approaching four years of service
Later this year, the West New York UEZ will celebrate its fourth year of existence in West New York. Stores in the UEZ are allowed to charge 3 percent sales tax. Some of the money from the sales tax that is collected goes toward fixing up the stores and the area.
“We are really proud of what we have been able to accomplish,” Miqueli said. “The growth that we have helped bring to the area has been outstanding. Business incentives and a much improved streetscape have brought new name brands stores to West New York.”
West New York is a major retail center with over 300 stores and restaurants located Bergenline Avenue. Of the one square mile that makes up West New York, 30.1 percent is in the Urban Enterprise Zone. The major benefit of the UEZ is the reduced tax on retail goods. But other than the tax break for shoppers, the UEZ has worked hard to improve the face of Bergenline Avenue. “We have worked hard to give West New York the right look,” Miqueli said. “I was born and raised right here in West New York and as a whole the area has greatly improved. The changes to the streetscape on Bergenline Avenue in the last several years have been dramatic. We are just about done with the brick sidewalks and new light posts and we have hung banners over the road which we believe give the town a Victorian look.”
According to the UEZ, West New York offers business owners a Storefront Improvement Program. The program offers property owners a matching grant for up to $2,500 and in some cases $5,000 in the form of a rebate.
“With the new stores going up on the waterfront we really want to show residents everything that Bergenline Avenue has to offer,” said the assistant coordinator for the Urban Enterprise Zone, Michael Parkes. “We want to attract shoppers to this area ’cause it has so much to offer.”
Aided by the UEZ, West New York businesses are beginning to grow in numbers. Some of the new stores that Bergenline Avenue has attracted or is slated to attract in the near future are Walgreen’s, P.C. Richards, Doctor Zen Clothing, and Shout Clothing, according to Michael Parkes.
“The Election Day Sale is just another measure that assures that we are bringing in shoppers and new businesses,” said Parkes.
With all the half truths and rhetoric being tossed back and forth between politicians in the next week, one thing will be constant. There will be sale on Bergenline Avenue and people will save money and to shoppers those savings are no “fuzzy numbers.”