Gertz (department store)

Gertz
Company typeDepartment store
Founded1918; 106 years ago (1918)
FounderBenjamin Gertz
Defunct1982; 42 years ago (1982)
FateFolded into Stern's
SuccessorStern's (1982–2001)
Macy's (2001–present)
Area served
New York metropolitan area
ParentAllied Stores

Gertz was a New York-based department store, headquartered in Jamaica, Queens. Founded in 1918 by Benjamin Gertz, along with his five sons,[1] the company was acquired by Allied Stores in 1941.[2][3]

Gertz department store in Mid-Island Plaza in Hicksville, New York in 1957

Gertz had branch stores in Douglaston, Flushing, Great Neck, Hicksville, Massapequa, Bay Shore, Lake Grove, and East Hampton.[4] The 300,000 square foot Hicksville location was opened in 1956 in the Mid-Island Plaza, known today as Broadway Commons;[5] that store would eventually become Sterns in 1983, followed by Macy's in 2001. Currently the building is vacant as of Macy's closing in the spring of 2020.[6] In 1981, Gertz opened at two former Korvette's locations in Douglaston and Lake Grove, but that year, changing demographics caused the company's first store closure, its flagship Jamaica location. Later, the Bay Shore location was converted to a Stern's and then a Macy's. After Macy's closed the location, the building was demolished and a Lowe's was built on the site.

  1. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths GERTZ, DIANA RADIN". The New York Times. Section D. May 16, 1997. p. 17. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  2. ^ Shipp, E.R. (September 9, 1980). "Some See Gertz Closing As an Ill Wind in Jamaica; Founded in 1918 Concern for the Future 'A Very Traumatic Experience'". The New York Times. Section M. p. 3. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Allied Stores Corp". The New York Times. Business. April 20, 1965. p. 61. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Leroy, Bridget (September 29, 2011). "Stern's Buildings Demoed". The East Hampton Star. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  5. ^ "GERTZ SIGNS FIRST IN BIG L. I. CENTER; Queens Department Store to Occupy Six-Story Building in New Hicksville Project". The New York Times. Business Financial. March 17, 1955. p. 40. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Parrish, Troy N. (January 8, 2020). "Macy's says it will close Hicksville store; Commack store to close this summer". Newsday. Retrieved December 13, 2021.