Big boxes find the boroughs

Hooray for the big boxes, which are expanding all over our city, not just in Manhattan! Nordstrom Rack is coming to Queens and Staten Island, while JCPenney will open in Brooklyn, all a sign of retailer confidence in the growth of all boroughs in our city, and the need for mid-level price points. Rack's first shop in Queens will be at the Shops at Skyview Center on September 10, and the company will debut in Staten Island in 2016 (!) when Empire Outlets opens on Black Friday. But ever-trendy Brooklyn will not be ignored! JC Penney enters the borough at Gateway Center on August 29. And one report floating around is that Macy's will split its Brooklyn Fulton Mall flagship into both a full-price and outlet store. Part of all this expansion beyond Manhattan is because that borough is saturated - and extraordinarily expensive. Even so, it's great to see that the vast majority of New Yorkers will have convenient and value fashion shopping in the not-do-distant future. Other stores are opening as well. Jewelry shop Broken English comes east from Los Angeles to 56 Crosby St. La Another click has turned to brick - Normal at 150 West 22nd St. offers customized ear buds produced by an in-store 3D printer after associates take pictures of your ears! Rebecca Minkoff will finally open her 96 Greene St. store this fall. Polo Ralph Lauren's shop at 711 Fifth Ave. is scheduled to open on August 28. Just a few days later, on September 3, Rent the Runway's first full store debuts at 16 West 18th St. Microsoft is coming to the city at 677 Fifth Ave., just a few blocks south of arch-rival Apple. Gap will open a factory store at 1015 Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park area. Tamara Mellon reportedly will open a pop-up shop next month as a test for a permanent store sometime next year. The fall NYCREW calendar will begin with author Dr. Sharon Melnick speaking about "Success Under Stress: Manage Yourself and Influence Others to Play a Bigger Game," being held Wednesday, September 17 at the offices of Rockefeller Business Centers, 45 Rockefeller Plaza. Dr. Melnick will tell us all how to present ourselves more effectively at work, and how to balance our home lives in a must-attend session for all professionals. On Wednesday, October 15, our fall Industry Spotlight will once again fall on "The Women Leading New York's Real Estate Families," in which the next generation of executives will discuss the industry, and the challenges of managing the family firm. I will moderate a panel of terrifically accomplished women (names to come shortly) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the 3 West Club, 3 West 51st St., New York City. Our previous editions of this panel have been informative, funny, touching, smart - and some of the best spotlights NYCREW has ever produced. For more information about these and other NYCREW events, please visit www.nycrew.org. Happy Labor Day and Happy Shopping! Faith Hope Consolo is the chairman, the retail group, at Douglas Elliman, New York, N.Y.