Terminal jammed with visitors

The public launch of the Grand Central Apple Store in New York City has drawn hundreds of people, accounts and photos show. The outlet opened at 10AM local time, by which point many people had been waiting line. Those towards the front of the line reportedly waited overnight with sleeping bags; Apple workers distributed Smartwater bottles.

The crowd is said to have grown exponentially after 10AM, reaching into the hundreds. This was almost matched though by the sheer number of Apple employees, who may have also numbered in the hundreds, and were easily visible in their red t-shirts. The store is known to have 315 staff members in total.

Whether or not Apple will be able to maintain high traffic remains to be seen, but the company has the distinct advantage of a extremely visible location in one of the world's busiest transportation hubs. Some 700,000 people pass through Grand Central Terminal daily. The situation has in fact drawn scrutiny from the New York state government, since Apple is now known to have scored extremely low rent from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the terminal.

by MacNN Staff