Bed Bath & Beyond pulls black jack-o’-lanterns after complaints in Nyack

Bed Bath & Beyond has removed black jack-o’-lanterns from sale after a News 12 investigation that stemmed from complaints in Nyack about the product.

News 12 Staff

Oct 21, 2019, 9:44 PM

Updated 1,880 days ago

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Bed Bath & Beyond has removed black jack-o’-lanterns from sale after a News 12 investigation that stemmed from complaints in Nyack about the product.
A Halloween display in front of a law firm was taken down in Nyack because the jack-o'-lanterns upset some community members. The jack-o’-lanterns are painted black with a white mouth.

The reaction from some community members led the Feerick, Nugent, MacCartney Law Offices to take the pumpkins down less than 48 hours after setting them out on the porch.
“We understand that someone complained about them and so once we got word of that we immediately took them down," says Mary Marzolla, a partner at the law firm.
Marzolla says the pumpkins, personalized with the names of each partner at the firm on South Broadway, were never meant to offend anyone.
“We represent people of all colors and faiths, and we would never do anything to exclude anyone from any community,” she says.
Her associate, Alak Shah, says he didn’t think twice about the jack-o’-lanterns.
It's just nothing I take offense to personally, but since it did offend someone we took proactive steps to take it down,” he says.
Local NAACP Director Wilbur Aldridge says it shows an "extreme lack of sensitivity."
Though they have been removed, both attorneys say they wonder why the decorations didn’t raise flags at Bed Bath & Beyond, the store where they were purchased.
Bed Bath & Beyond apologized, saying that any offense was unintentional and that it “immediately removed” the pumpkins from sale.
The store says it took action after News 12 reached out but would not say if it had received any other complaints.