Penney closing Rockland store, no others nearby

The J.C Penney store at the Palisades Center in Rockland County is the closest one to the Mid-Hudson Valley that will close this year, according to a list provided by the retailer on Friday.

The Penney stores at the Poughkeepsie Galleria in the town of Poughkeepsie, the Galleria at Crystal Run in the Orange County town of Wallkill and Crossgates Mall in suburban Albany will remain open.

Penney announced in February that it would close 130 to 140 stores and offer voluntary early retirement plans to about 6,000 employees because of slowing traffic and sales. The list made public Friday shows 138 locations will shut down.

The company said the closings will cause the loss of about 5,000 jobs.

“We believe closing stores will ... allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers,” Penney Chief Executive Office Marvin Ellison said in a prepared statement, according to The Associated Press.

Besides the Palisades Center store, the only Penney locations in New York state that will close are in Massapequa, on Long Island, and in Dunkirk, southwest of Buffalo.

Penney closed its store at Hudson Valley Mall in the town of Ulster in the spring of 2015.

J.C. Penney stock (JCP) lost 17 cents, or 2.76 percent of its value, on Friday to close at $5.99 per share.

“We believe closing stores will ... allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers.” — J.C. Penney Chief Executive Office Marvin Ellison