8 AUGUST 10, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Discount store Five Below opens at Glendale’s Atlas Park
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Look out below! Five Below has
just opened up at The Shops at
Atlas Park in Glendale, off ering
name-brand products for deeply discounted
prices.
Five Below — which gets its name
because all items in the store are
priced between one and fi ve dollars
— opened its doors in Atlas Park at 9
a.m. on Friday, Aug. 4, where a line of
customers braved the dark skies and
rainy weather as they anxiously waited
to get their hands on the discount
store’s great deals.
Inside the store, customers roamed
around the many diff erent sections
ranging from candies, games, clothing,
beauty supplies, decor, workout gear,
tech, seasonal items, and much more.
“I came here today for the store itself,”
said Richard Epstein, who was shopping
with his wife and two sons. “They
have everything we need for much
cheaper than you can fi nd anywhere
else. I visited the store in New Jersey
and it’s just as good there. The store is
always clean and the staff is helpful. If
you don’t see something on the shelves,
you just have to ask one of the workers
and they will try and help you get it.”
To celebrate their grand opening,
Five Below gave out either a free tote
bag or drawstring backpack for customers
who made a purchase.
Five Below is located on the fi rst
fl oor at The Shops at Atlas Park, at
8000 Cooper Ave., and is open from
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays through
Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on
Sundays.
Lead & chemical hazards lead to ban for Ridgewood importer
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
The federal government on Aug.
4 indefi nitely barred two companies
based in Ridgewood and
Bushwick from importing children’s
products aft er learning that they had
brought in items which contained
hazardous chemicals and potential
choking hazards.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney
Bridget M. Rohde, Lily Popular Varieties
& Gift s Inc. at 1710 Flushing
Ave. in Ridgewood (formerly at 52-17
Flushing Ave. in Maspeth) and Everbright
Trading at 1177B Flushing
Ave. in Bushwick are prohibited
from importing and selling toys and
other children’s products until they
take a number of remedial measures
related to their businesses.
Rohde said that the federal Consumer
Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) requested legal action back
in June aft er collecting samples from
the two businesses via shipments
that arrived at the Port of New York/
Newark and the Port of Los Angeles/
Long Beach in California.
Since March of 2013, federal
authorities said, the CPSC collected
a combined 169 samples of toys and
children’s products from Everbright
and Lily Popular Varieties and found
that each of them failed federal safety
standards. The violations included illegal
levels of lead and/or phthalates,
as well as small parts that present a
choking hazard to young children
who might ingest them.
The decrees bans Everbright and
Lily Popular Varieties from importing,
selling or distributing any toys or children’s
products until the companies
individually agree to implement a product
safety and testing program; hire a
product safety coordinator; allow for
products to be independently tested by
accredited organizations; and permit
the CPSC to monitor their activities.
The ban came through separate
consent decrees that the U.S. District
Court issued against Lily Popular Varieties
and Everbright as well as their
respective owners: Yuan Xiang Gao
of Everbright and Li Jing and Cheng
Feng You of Lily Popular Varieties.
“There is no greater responsibility
of the Department of Justice than to
protect our nation’s children,” Rohde
said. “Today’s actions demonstrate
the department’s commitment to
keeping our children safe from potentially
harmful products.”
Photo via Google Maps
Lily Popular Varieties & Gifts, located at this warehouse on Flushing Avenue
in Ridgewood, has been banned from importing children's products.
Photos by Anthony Giudice/Ridgewood Times
Five Below opened in Atlas Park last week.
