Comments on The Gowanus Lounge: Canadian Picked to Run Huge Ikea in Red Hook

Well, actually, as a Danish-Canadian who lives a b...

2008-03-02T13:19:00.000-05:00

Well, actually, as a Danish-Canadian who lives a block away from the new Ikea, maybe I should work there! I wonder if I show them my Danish passport if I'll get a discount ...

No 8:52 its not a black issue. Its a class issue. ...

2008-03-02T06:14:00.000-05:00

No 8:52 its not a black issue. Its a class issue. It happens that most poor in Red Hook are black. It's about people wanting to get ahead. People like you, 8:52 like to show what extremely good taste you have by dissing IKEA. They make OK furniture and it gives people a chance to buy stuff for a growing family. Maybe you can hire a woodworker to build custom furniture, most of us can't. What should we do 8:52, search the streets for concrete blocks and planks, maybe a empty wire spool to put our hooka on? IKEA didn't appear out of nowhere. They have been successful at selling furniture at a price point that most people find agreeable. No doubt you live in Red Hook and will be looking out your sunny coop and fuming at all the traffic backed up trying to strap those huge boxes on top of their Accords. Better lock your fixed gear bike inside.

Local organizations, especially Red Hook Rise, are...

2008-03-02T00:51:00.000-05:00

Local organizations, especially Red Hook Rise, are confidant that IKEA will offer lots of jobs to locals. Fairway set a good precedent. Most of the employees there are local, and the service is excellent. To be sure, it's not Madison Avenue, but the will is there, at least for customers willing to take their assistance with a bit of funk.

My request for kasha, for instance, led a young stock clerk on a quest through several aisles. He clearly had never eaten the grain, but he persevered and proudly pointed to the product I sought among the dried grains and nuts.

There are no Swedes in the Red Hook Projects (unless you count the vegetable), but I'm sure there are plenty of people capable of staffing a furniture store.

I wonder if the canadian is legal and where is thi...

2008-03-01T20:53:00.000-05:00

I wonder if the canadian is legal and where is this person going to live?

oh my god, is this turning into a black issue? sig...

2008-03-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

oh my god, is this turning into a black issue? sigh..it's more about where is there a big chunk of land near a highway that we can build our giant store full of cheap shit no matter who lives there.

splitting hairs 6:06, splitting hairs. I suppose y...

2008-03-01T00:09:00.000-05:00

splitting hairs 6:06, splitting hairs. I suppose you want to unpave the roads too. It's kind of inevitable isn't it? White people discover a hood and more white people follow. (In this case the whitest of all) Stop the self loathing, just stop. I'm sure there are a lot of poor blacks in the neighborhood who will be happy to take the money who care little if they're Swedish, Norwegian, or South African.

IKEA, actually pronounced EH KAY AH, is Swedish..n...

2008-02-29T18:06:00.000-05:00

IKEA, actually pronounced EH KAY AH, is Swedish..not NORWEGIAN. Ya know, Sweden is not Norway. I don't think the local children, frolicking down Beard Street, in barefeet carrying torches, really care about IKEA. I'd be more afraid of the adults who hate IKEA carrying jugs of water to throw on all the particle board and glue furniture. Maybe they'll torch the cars streaming in..maybe they will all JUST NOT SHOP THERE!

You know Red Hook was once home to thousands of Sc...

2008-02-29T13:01:00.000-05:00

You know Red Hook was once home to thousands of Scandinavians. Seems appropriate that they return to their old neighborhood. By the way, the last time the Norwegian soccer federation came to Red Hook bearing gifts, (a soccer field in '94) the local children set it on fire. What kind of sprinkler system does the new building have?