Target Draws Fury By Recreating CBGB For East Village Promotion

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Livid locals are calling Target out for commodifying the East Village's counter culture after the retailer created a fake street for its grand opening in the neighborhood equipped with a mock CBGB awning, print outs of tenement buildings and fake mom-and-pop storefronts.

"It's abysmal," said long-time East Village resident Joesph Colombo, 56, as he passed by the Saturday pop up. "It's literally big box stores like Target moving into the East Village that have wiped out so much of what made it unique, and they have the nerve to commodify the neighborhood and say they're celebrating it? Its bulls--t."

Target opened its latest outpost Saturday at 500 East 14th Street in the base of Extell Development's luxury apartment building.

To celebrate the 27,000-square-foot store's grand opening, the shop opened with a mock East Village street with fake store fronts along East 14th Street, most notably one mimicking the famous punk club CBGB that shuttered in 2006 over a rent hike.

The bright white and red awning read "TRGT" and "BANDS" in the venue's signature font.

Folks could take photos with a giant electric guitar and employees passed out free Target branded gear. Fake newspaper boxes reminiscent of The Village Voice hawked copies of "The Target Times." The display also included fake street murals, building stoops, park benches and a fire hydrant.

New Yorkers took to social media to vent their frustrations and Jeremiah Moss, author of the Vanishing New York blog, called the display "the most deplorable commodification of local neighborhood culture I’ve ever witnessed."

Target apologized to locals in a Monday statement.

"Our goal [was] to connect with our newest guests and, in this case, celebrate the heritage of the East Village," said Jacqueline DeBuse, a spokeswoman for Target told Patch Monday. "We sincerely apologize if some event-goers felt it was not the best way to capture the spirit of the neighborhood. We always appreciate guest feedback and will take it into consideration as we plan for future opening events."

Photos courtesy of Caroline Spivack