Manhattan Toys ‘R’ Us closes doors as new year arrives

Toys R Us opened in Times Square in 2001, when the neighbourhood was still only a few years removed from its bad old days as a centre for adult entertainment and grime.

For over 14 years, the store on Times Square offered some scale, awe and a bit of chaos to all its many tiny visitors. The cost for the ground floor space that is occupied by Toy “R” Us, would cost approximately $42 million per year.

“When they were little guys, this was the big thing”, said Mike Packer, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, whose 18-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter decided, for nostalgia’s sake, to take a final spin. Though she said there were a lot of “Star Wars” toys left, and a lot of board games. “You know something’s up”.

Fourteen years after it began wowing millions of tourists with its indoor 60-foot Ferris wheel and a growling 20-foot Tyrannosaurus, the giant Toys R Us flagship store in Times Square closes its doors Wednesday.

They were among thousands of people who packed into Times Square on the eve of New Year’s Eve.

Toys “R” Us spokeswoman Alyssa Peera said the lease expires in January and the store was not renewing its lease “to realize meaningful rent savings”.

Customers ride the ferries wheel at the Toys R Us Times Square flagship store on December 24, 2015, in NY.

The store closing puts a damper on the area as it leaves Times Square without an attraction for just children. Pix11 citing Brandon: “We are actively searching for another location in midtown Manhattan where we can welcome shoppers from around the world”, he said, noting that there are more than 800 stores in the U.S. But it’s unclear what will happen to T-Rex.

Toys “R” Us didn’t say how much they were paying in rent.