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New World Mall draws crowds to former Caldor site

New World Mall draws crowds to former Caldor site
By Connor Adams Sheets

A stunning new Asian mall has opened at the long-vacant Caldor site at the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue in downtown Flushing.

New World Mall, at 136-30 Roosevelt Ave., is a four-floor emporium replete with the 45,000-square-foot J Mart Chinese grocery store, a 150-table Cantonese restaurant, a massive basement food court and dozens of Asian stores.

The 167,000-square-foot space, which is centered around a bank of new escalators, is decadently decorated with chandeliers, soaring ceilings and a dazzling array of shopping and eating options.

The top-floor restaurant’s tables were almost all filled with diners eager to try its dim sum even on a weekday morning last week, and the food court was bustling with hungry patrons.

“It’s a brand-new, mixed-use shopping mall,” Sharon Shi, a broker for Perfect Group Realty, which represents the project, said in September. “The majority of people are Chinese, so the purpose is to pick up a Chinese supermarket, but of course there will be American food, too.”

Mall officials, who claim the supermarket and Chinese restaurant are the largest in the United States, did not return repeated requests for comments over the past week.

The mall includes a wide range of businesses, from a hair salon to a coffee shop and burger joint as well as many Asian-themed restaurants and boutiques. Motorbikes are sold in a glass enclosure on the second floor.

J Mart features aisle after aisle of Asian delights and staples, a live fish section packed to the gills with fresh seafood, a spacious fresh produce section and more.

City Councilman Peter Koo (R-Flushing) and other officials attended a grand opening ceremony for the mall May 22.

“The councilman is glad that there are new businesses operating now, it will bring an economic boost to the area,” Koo spokesman James MacClelland said. “Caldor was sitting there fallow for so many years, and hopefully it will encourage people to shop. It’s incredible. They spared no expense, they did everything high-end. It’s a nice shopping space for the residents of Queens and hopefully people will come and enjoy it.”

About 300 parking spots are available for two hours free of charge to customers who spend more than $30 in one visit to the shopping center.

For more information about New World Mall, call 718-353-0551.

Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.