“Love what they’ve done with the esplanade! They’ve created a recreational space where there was none before.”—Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President

“You can’t stay in a community unless you have a job. Last I checked, Ikea had hired close to 300 Red Hook residents.”—Ray Hall, co-founder of community program Red Hook Rise

“It’s so much closer to Manhattan. And a water taxi?!? There’s nothing like taking your new dresser on a nice boat ride!”—Nathan Geddie, devoted Ikea shopper who pilgrimages to Jersey four times a year

“Ikea bent over backward to listen to everyone’s concerns and tried to address them in the best possible way. In terms of being a community player, we couldn’t ask for anything more.”—Carl Hum, president and CEO of Brooklyn’s Chamber of Commerce

“Famous meatballs?!? Now I’m excited. Maybe I’ll even buy a clock!”—Eric “Badlands” Booker, two-time award-winning competitor in the Tropicana Meatball-Eating Contest

“The site is totally inappropriate. It was a working waterfront and has recreational parks on two sides. The traffic will increase accidents and pollution.”—John McGettrick, cochair of the Red Hook Civic Association

“People aren’t going to ‘make a day of it’ and visit other stores in the area. Ikea is a time-consuming shopping experience and Red Hook is just something you drive through to get to it.”—Alan Mukamal, Red Hook resident and community board activist

“Columbia Street used to be a medium-size road that got you to the BQE quickly. Now it’s a multilane monster—a fucking nightmare.”—Brian Abrams, a Red Hook expat who moved to Dumbo to escape the impending traffic

“There’s an area next to Ikea that’s been a graffiti spot for years. Ikea will bring more surveillance, making it difficult for people to focus on their art.”—Sonja Shield, Brooklyn photographer

“It’s still at the end of nowhere. Unless you’re one of, like, seven people in New York City with a car, it’s not that useful.”—Ian Robinson, a Brooklyn Heights resident with no plans to visit the store

New York City’s first Ikea opens at 9am on Wed 18 in Red Hook, Brooklyn (718-246-IKEA, ikea.com). Additional reporting by Roisin O’Connor-McGinn.