By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
HERALD SQUARE — All signs of the Thanksgiving Day Parade were gone Friday morning as shoppers looking for Black Friday deals streamed into Macy's, Victoria's Secret, H&M and more stores at Herald Square around 5 a.m.
"Foot Locker's open, come on, come on let's go," called an employee outside the 34th Street store, herding people from the streets into the brightly-lit interior.
Amy Ireland and her daughter Monika, 18, waited with about 75 others outside of Victoria's Secret. They had traveled from Kentucky so that Monika could dance with the "Varsity Spirit" in Thursday's parade. They were waiting for the store's 6 a.m. opening.
"We scoped it out the other day," said the elder Ireland. They had chosen exactly what they wanted and planned to go in and grab it — but "be Kentucky polite" about it. The Ireland's said that most of the store's staff had been closed-lipped during their first visit about what sales to expect, but one friendly clerk had finally told them that almost everything would be deeply discounted.
Ruven Levovitz, an Upper East Side resident, walked down to Herald Square from his East 96th Street apartment with two friends. They hit a Best Buy and an H&M on the way down, but were disappointed that rumors of free gifts were untrue.
Levovitz and his crew parked themselves outside Sephora on 34th street at about 4:30 a.m. and he was given a number 40 tag. The first 100 people on line would get a gift certificate of anywhere from $100 to $500.
"If I get a good gift card here," Levovitz said. "I'll give it to my girlfriend."
The next stop on their list was Macy's, followed by Urban Outfitters.
At Macy's, groups of about 100 lined up outside the Broadway, 34th Street and Seventh Avenue entrances. Wanda, a store clerk, said everything had gone smoothly and people had no problem getting in when the doors opened at 5 a.m.
The store was bustling but not packed during the first hour of operation, with plenty of room to browse and very short lines to purchase.
Carol Sullivan and her daughter, visiting from Ireland, carried an enormous black suitcase with them. They planned to fill it with Macy's purchases. What did they want?
"Anything and everything!" Sullivan said.
