NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Merry Go Round Toy Discount Center announced this week that it will be closing its doors for good within the coming weeks. Signs were placed in the windows on Thursday.
Greg Choron, who has owned the 65-year old business for the past 28 years is retiring.
“It was a difficult decision to make to leave a thriving and wonderful business such as The Merry Go Round”, said Choron. “The time has come for me to retire and enjoy traveling.”
“I have loved this business and all my customers,” added Choron. “The amount of joy that all of these toys, games, and sporting goods brought to the families in this area is extraordinary, and the relationships that I developed over the years with my customers is something that I will greatly miss.”
Choron anticipates the store will remain open for the next two months while they sell out all of their remaining merchandise. Everything in the store is currently marked 50% off.
The store closing has struck an emotional chord not just for us, but for generations of families in the Westchester area.
“Merry Go Round is a New Rochelle tradition,” said James O’Toole, a board member of the Downtown Business Improvement District.
“They always had everything,” added O’Toole. “They were the best toy store in Westchester.”
[Readers are welcome to share their memories of the Merry Go Round Toy store in the comments section]
El Alcalde
Today, the middle class is distraught, apprehensive and shrinking. And poorer. In 1989, the median household income in America was $51,681 measured in today’s dollars. In 2012, the median household income was $51,017.
That’s right, after 23 years of toil, the middle class has managed to get poorer. And imperiled. This is what Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary says.
So where is the wealth going? To those who are already wealthy. “Almost all of our economic gains have gone to the top 1 percent,” says Robert Reich. “My fear is that Democrats won’t talk about this any more than they did in midterms, in which they wooed wealthy individuals, big corporations and Wall Street, which is the fundamental problem. Republicans are in the same boat. Yes, there are some tall building downtown that make our landscape look different. Yes, it is better that the parking lots of 15 -20 years ago. What who has it benefitted? Mr. Bramson notes with sheer pride the value of a $4,000 a month apartment downtown. Who benefits from this? The City? No, it is three or four students who go to Iona or Monroe. Who have no additional funds to patronize our restaurants downtown.
The Mayor continues to be in the pocket of realtors and more realtors. He has no vision to address the issues of poverty in New Rochelle. He has no clue on how to create jobs in New Rochelle. He’s never worked a day in his life, so how would he know? Think outside the box – is it possible to make an infrastructure change or suggestion that is not politically motivated?
Reich said. “The public has an acute ability to smell fakery or lack of authenticity”. Well, it continues to smell in Bramson’s New Rochelle. To exclude the community by continuing to conduct public meetings in a distant venue where most people pay to listen to him is indicative of his arrogant mindset. Many senior’s in my neighborshood would like to listen to the Mayor – but they are poor, handicap, veterans and people of color.
Does he care?