Black Friday Guide for Forest Hills

Forest Hills residents will be able to get a head start on their holiday gift buying as a number of stores along Austin Street as well as local shopping centers are opening early and offering sales.

The Queens Center Mall opened at midnight on Thanksgiving and will keep the lights on until 11 p.m. tonight.

A number of stores at the center are offering sales. Some of them include 25 percent off during the entire weekend at Aerosoles, 50 percent off eyeglasses or non-prescription sunglasses at Cohen’s Fashion Optical, 70 percent at H&M and 50 percent off various items at Forever 21.

For a complete list of Black Friday sales at the center, visit the Queens Center Mall’s website.

A number of stores on Austin Street are also offering sales throughout the day.

Laytner’s, located 72-10 Austin St., is offering 15 percent off as part of its going out of business sale.

Chez Moi, located at 71-47, is holding a 70 percent off sale on a number of items.

Strawberry, located at 71-24, is opening at 7 a.m. and hosting an early bird special, while the United Colors of Benetton, located at 71-27 Austin St., is offering anywhere from 20 to 70 percent off various items.

Ann Taylor and Banana Republic are currently offering sales up to 40 percent off. And several businesses are opening as early as 6 a.m., such as The Children’s Place and Bath and Body Works.

A few local stores, including Anthony at 71-05 Austin St., are taking part in Small Business Saturday, which was founded by American Express in 2010 as a way for shoppers to patronize smaller stores as opposed to Black Friday, when millions across the nation flock to big box retail stores.

Also, most of the stores at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center are offering sales throughout the day. Check out Patch’s Black Friday Guide for Northeast Queens for further details.