For the first time in years, Black Friday was a breeze for bargain-hunting New Yorkers.
After the initial crush of early-bird crowds subsided, shoppers found stores across the city surprisingly manageable.
“I have never done Black Friday. I said I wouldn’t ever because of the crowds — but it’s not too bad,” said Manhattan mom Lisa Ehrlich, who popped into Bloomingdale’s for clothes for her son after seeing there was no jostling throng.
“It’s relatively empty.”
“This year, I wasn’t about to kill people,” echoed Bronx mother of three Elizabeth Garcia.
She started her shopping at Toys “R” Us in Times Square around 3:30 a.m., hours after the store’s Thursday night 8 pm opening.
At Best Buy in Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Mall, Kaxandre Choute got her son a $200 cellphone for $50 and was headed for work, on time, by mid-morning.
“This is my first Black Friday, and it’s not as crazy as I thought it would be,” she said.
Best Buy was among several stores — including Target, Walmart, Toys R Us and Sears — that opened Thursday night, enticing shoppers with deep doorbuster discounts on televisions and other electronics.
At Best Buy in Manhattan, Crystal Camacho and Sammy Caban got in line just after midnight and walked out more than four hours later with the 40-inch Toshiba TV they’d been eyeing for $180.
“It was crazy but well worth it,” Caban said.
Crowds rushed in to take advantage of the early deals, but those who waited for a later wave found there were still plenty of bargains to be had, with much less stress.
“I decided I wasn’t wasting my time with those long midnight lines,” said Tricia Taylor, who was shopping for her kids at Target at Atlantic Terminal.
“I didn’t have to rush; everything I needed was still here when I arrived,” she said. “I came for exactly what I needed to purchase and that’s it.”
Brooklyn school aide Dacia Cabito scored big at Aeropostale, spending $500 on about 44 clothing items to send back to her kids — who live with their father in Ecuador — with energy to go back for another round.
“In my country, clothes like this are very expensive,” she said. “I’m going to drop these things off and come back.”
At JCPenney in the Queens Center mall, doors opened 15 minutes before the scheduled 5:45a.m. start, with about 100 people in line.
A run on $8 cooks-brand appliances — which sold out in 20 minutes — caused temporary chaos, but by mid-morning things had calmed down.
Pedro Llanos picked up a $1,000 mattress for $800 and an $80 George Foreman Grill for $19 and said he and his wife were going back for clothes for their 13-year-old daughter.
“I’m on a mission to find the best price,” the dad of three laughed.
Black Friday also drew out-of-towners who were experiencing the annual shopping event for the first time.
“I was expecting big crowds pushing through the doors, like in the movies,” said Marie Serret, a student from France with a year-long internship here.
“It’s my first Black Friday. We don’t have Thanksgiving in France. It’s exciting,” said Serret, who started shopping at 8 a.m. and spent around $300 on more than $550 worth of goods from Victoria’s Secret, Forever 21, Macy’s and other stores.Brazil native Natalia Souza came to New York to shop yesterday.
“All over the world, people know about Black Friday,” she said. “I like it,” she said. “I’m going to try and come back next year, too.”
“I wanted to see how it is, if it’s good discounts and lots of people.”
“I’m buying gifts for Christmas, and clothes, boots, and creams for the whole year, these are great deals!” said Souza.