By:Jonann Brady
In cyberspace, rumors can spread and mutate like an out-of-control virus. One of these rumors has infected National Wholesale Liquidators in Baldwin, and store employees and chain managers are sick about it.
The story apparently began in Staten Island. Employees at the Port Richmond store began celebrating after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, went the initial version of events. Later versions of the story had employees and managers dancing on the roof and handing out candy in the parking lot.
Scott Rosen, the company's CEO, invited people who witnessed the alleged celebration to come in to identify employees who were involved. The police and FBI were called in to investigate. None of the accusations have panned out, but the rumor keeps multiplying, and now the Baldwin store is the target.
In an unsigned e-mail, the author writes "a friend of mine was shopping at National Wholesale Liquidators located at 2485 Grand Ave. in Baldwin New York. When the horrific events at the World Trade Center were announced the employees and managers and I presume owners were clapping and cheering at the news." The e-mail also claims the police came to the store and then calls for a boycott.
A spokesperson at the First Precinct said the police were not at the store that day, and no formal complaints have been filed against the store or employees. The police received one anonymous phone call about a celebration at the store on Sept. 11, said the spokesperson.
"This is a variation of the same Staten Island story," said Robert Pidgeon, director of personnel for the chain. "People are just passing the message along and changing the store names." He went on to say the campaign is particularly insidious, because the "Internet has no face and no name."
In a meeting at the company's Hempstead headquarters, Pidgeon and other managers said they were devastated by "vicious rumors" that they suspect may have come from an ex-employee.
Since Sept. 11, business at the Northeast chain has fallen, but Pidgeon said it was unclear whether that was because of the allegations or the attack itself, which has hurt businesses throughout the area.
After the terrorist attack, people are angry and looking for a target, said Pidgeon. Because National Wholesale Liquidators employs many new immigrants, including a large number of Indians and Pakistanis, the company is fertile ground for bias and prejudice.
"People want to lay blame on someone. Many of our people look like foreigners," said Pidgeon.
Joginder Kang, who is originally from India, has managed the Grand Avenue store for the past six years and can't believe that Baldwinites would believe the hearsay.
"People know us here. We are hard working," said Kang, who added that he knew four people missing in the World Trade Center attacks. "Our employees are from all over. Some are Spanish. There are people from India and Guyana."
Kang was not at the store on Sept. 11 but said he talked extensively with other employees, and no celebration was reported.
Charan Dass, an employee of the Baldwin store since 1994, was working on Sept. 11 and said no celebration occured. Dass, a Sikh Indian, wears a turban and long beard and said many people assume he is Muslim.
"I don't know how people misunderstand," said Dass. "We are from India. We are not Muslim. We are not Arabic. We are not the same people."
Dass said many Sikhs live in fear since the terrorist attacks. Two employees in the Baldwin store have shaved their beards and cut their hair, even though it is against their religion, said Dass. He, too, has been subject to slurs in his Queens neighborhood and in the store.
"People are saying, 'your people did this', " said Dass, who wore a flag pin on his shirt. "Walking down the street, people say bad words to us and make us feel bad. I became a citizen of the United States in 1996. We like this country."
Kang said the Grand Avenue store has not seen a sharp drop in business. Last weekend found the parking lot of the Grand Avenue store filled to capacity. Shoppers from Baldwin and surrounding towns said they had not heard any reports of celebrations by employees.
"I haven't heard it," said Terry Archer of Baldwin. "I've always found them very nice in here. I'd be surprised and very saddened if it was true."
Another shopper said he usually doubted the veracity of Internet anecdotes to begin with.
"I haven't heard about it, but if I heard it on the Internet, I probably wouldn't believe it," said Tony Corsaro of Baldwin.
Still, the rumor has taken on a life of its own. One Baldwin woman called The Herald to complain, saying she heard the story from a friend. The Herald called the friend, who said she heard the story from her hairdresser at Jack's Beauty Parlor, who said she heard it from a customer. At press time, no one had reported seeing the incident first-hand to The Herald or local police.
That is little comfort to the staff at National Wholesale Liquidators. "Someone will be arrested for this, but nobody will hear that," said a frustrated Pidgeon, who invited anyone with information to call him at 516-489-3300. "Where do we get our reputation back?"
