Manhattan location damaged

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/24/2001 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Century 21's Manhattan location, on Cortlandt Street between Church St. and Broadway, was in the center of the bustling financial community only two weeks ago but is now within ground zero, the area at and around the World Trade Center that was attacked on Sept. 11.

Not surprisingly, the store is currently closed, said Ed Gindi, vp and one of the owners. "It took a lot of damage but is still structurally sound."

But, more importantly, "we're so thankful that everyone in the store got out okay. Our thoughts are with everyone" that was affected by the attack or is helping with the rescue effort, he said.

The Manhattan location is a "large part of the volume" of all Century 21 stores, he said, and it will be cleaned and fixed up in the coming months. He hoped that it would reopen within three to six months. In the meantime, the retailer is trying to place Manhattan employees in its other locations.

"Century 21 is very strong," he said. "We're not going to miss a beat."