Gothamist: Astor Place Barnes & Noble Closing Over $$$

Lily

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:24:09 -0500

:-( just hope that the ST. MARKS BOOKSHOP across the way doesn't get squeezed out along with the rest...

eastboundanddown

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 23:02:43 -0500

Seems to me this is probably just a public way for B&N to scare their other landlords. B&N probably would leave Astor Place anyway since Union Square isn't that far away. And by crying high rent, they can put their other landlords on notice not to raise it. What gym will go there? Maybe one of the new Lance Armstrong 24 Hour Fitness centers. That wouldn't surprise me.

Still Not Amused

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 20:21:17 -0500

Well I guess us "Bookheads" will have to go elsewhere .

dlr

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:31:24 -0500

This really stinks. Astor Place B&N is a great store! In addition to Union Square, tho, there is a B&N on 8th & 6th. It's much smaller than Astor or Union, but it's cozy and nice

mikey!

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 11:49:29 -0500

Since when is Nick Hornby an "edgy" author? Next up, Gothamist ponders the new indie-lit sensation, John Grisham.

pete

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:48:57 -0500

It HAS to be a bank, or luxury condos, or both, so you can get a 300 year mortage to pay off you condo.

ts

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 02:15:19 -0500

Gnight, stranger.

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:43:04 -0500

See you on Beneath Street. Or on the boards.

Hal2814

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:17:00 -0500

Anybody else here that was part of the crew of ol' B&N #2619 back in the autumn of 1994? Sound off!

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:12:42 -0500

Ha, good for you Javier-let off some steam. As for you ts, I have nothing else. Nice one.

Hal2814

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:11:39 -0500

Very sad. I was one of the staff that opened Astor Place B&N back in '94. The manager bought a bottle of champagne from Astor Wine next door (since moved) and broke it open on the steps while we all cheered. I wonder who gets that naked painting of Michael Musto that used to hang over the stairs? Oh well, Union Square can more than pick up the traffic.

Javier

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:05:05 -0500

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:42:51 -0500

Do you think it's because people are so passionate about Barnes And Nobel? From what I can tell, it could just as easily have been 13-Year-Old Arrested For Defacing School Desk...it's just about hide and seek. Or lost and found.

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:21:41 -0500

In other news, this is now one of the most commented posts. Who knew happenings over on Beneath could generate such an impassioned response?

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:18:57 -0500

I try to avoid the self-help section, so I haven't read it, but maybe I should. I'm sure it has some useful words of wisdom.

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:00:10 -0500

Well, we're a humble breed. To be honest, I'm really just a frog salesman middle-man. I connect potential clients with the actual frog dealers. It's kind of complicated. Good thing postings don't count as reaching out, according to the 'Reaching Out Handbook.' Have you read that? You can find it beneath the Barnes And Nobel on Beneath Street...coming soon.

Schadenfreudian Mensch

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:32:38 -0500

"New York is only for the rich." And the very poor. There's no in-betweens nowadays. The middle class are on their way out. The only people to occupy NYC are going to be rich, poor and tourist.

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:30:38 -0500

omg, frog salesman? I have this weird thing for frog salesmen, but haven't told anyone. Maybe you shouldn't be so humble.

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:04:10 -0500

Yeah, in my dreams. Maybe someday. Until then I'm just a humble frog salesman posting on Gothamist.

ki

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:03:28 -0500

What kind of world do we live in where Huge Conglomerates can't get a break? This is just sad as hell. and Barney's Co-OP? What the fuck?!!!! It's ridiculous! At least Barnes and Nobles catered to many people and the public. Barney's Co-Op is for rich white females who only need to buy 3 garments for them to stay in business. Those rhinestone Parasuco jeans that cost $5000.00 each? New York is only for the rich.

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:56:41 -0500

You should put that comedic wit to good use and be a writer or something.

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:45:11 -0500

Oh, really? I thought I heard that it was opening up on Beneath above Walgreens. Now that you mention it, I think that what's opening up on Beneath beneath Walgreens is "Filene's Basement Beneath Walgreens. On Beneath."

Teddy N.

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:24:26 -0500

Something tells me that B&N won't be the last large company who can't afford the super high rents in this city. I know it sounds like a broken record when people say the bubble's gonna burst (like Tim above), but one day it will. Then again, a lot of people use B&N stores more like a library/place to hang out than a bookstore (yours truly included) so that plus super high rents equal closure.

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:14:44 -0500

"Bottom's Up On Beneath" on Beneath is opening up on beneath the new Walgreens space, i think...?

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:03:33 -0500

Yeah, love that place too. It should be a good match for that bar they're putting up up on Beneath, 'Bottom's Up On Beneath.'

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:25:17 -0500

oh! LOVE that place, not to mention the name. Rolls off the tongue. That neighborhood could use a good steakhouse.

Tim N.

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:18:37 -0500

You guys are all missing the big point!!! BARNES & NOBLE CAN'T AFFORD THE RENT!!! When the B&N can't pay the bills, then the bills *are* too friggin' high! Seriously, the implications of this are really rather frightening. Tower's one thing... but B&N? They're the ones who used to drive the little shops away because they could pay big rents, and now they can't pay? The bubble's gonna burst, friends... buy gold...

ivy270

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 18:58:36 -0500

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 18:50:45 -0500

ck - I believe that there's also a Ruth's Chris opening up on Beneath, so it's not all bad.

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 18:02:26 -0500

ts- That's a shame. I hear Beneath in Queens is a street full of great ethnic eats and cultural identity. Leave it to Wallgreens to initiate the gentrification process.

raoul

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:55:28 -0500

What are you talking about TS, did you smoke crack in the B&N bathroom before writing your comment? Jen is only saying that the Walgreens will occupy the space beneath what is now B&N's second floor....where's the typo?

Jen Chung

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:36:50 -0500

Isn't the rumor about a gym moving just speculation at this point? But it makes sense - $1000+ initiation fees, crazy monthly fees, etc. And thanks for looking for all my typos and other errors. Lord knows what you'd say as my life coach.

Michael Hunt

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:25:48 -0500

ok-- Thanks for pointing out yet another Jen Chung typo!

ts

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:20:53 -0500

ck - She may actually be referring to the street "Beneath The Barnes & Nobel," where, in fact, a Walgreens is indeed opening. I.e., "Walgreens will be opening up on Beneath The Barnes & Nobel Street," or "Walgreens will be opening on Seventh Avenue." I think it's somewhere out in Queens. The "B" should have been capitalized, of course.

smitty

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:19:56 -0500

The Walgreens is going in the old Astor Wines space, not in the Barnes and Noble space.

Another Ex-B&Ner

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:06:02 -0500

I also used to work at this B&N, for a short time in 2004. The employees were all rather pleasant, it's a shame for them. And I, too, have some interesting memories about the stranger regulars, including the smelly guy with long, crusty fingernails who ordered 7 books at a time and bought maybe 1 of said books every other week. It's definitely one of the nicer, less-intimidating (in size, that is) B&Ns in the city. And they have a really good poetry section.

zincink

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:01:08 -0500

Walgreens.. Gym.. I say a bank or a combination of the three.

ck

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:40:18 -0500

It's alright michael hunt, read the post a little closer and you'll be vindicated: "Walgreens will be opening up on beneath the Barnes & Noble"...

FormerB&Ner

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:15:28 -0500

As a former employee of that B&N (97-98) I know the current workers will miss the regulars. Where will "creepy old Italian man" hit on really young women at 9pm? Where will "woman with extra long q-tips taped in her ears" read history books? Where will woman who dumps her kids in the children's books section to go smoke crack in the bathroom go now? And for the love of god, what about all the snooty overly rushed housewives who need "that book Opra talked about this afternoon right f-ing NOW!" but don't know the author or title, only that the cover is red? I suspect these people will be wandering Union square in a daze for months, be afraid.

Michael Hunt

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:07:48 -0500

How ironic, I make fun of Jen the typo queen...and here I am making one myself (freeloader)!

Michael Hunt

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:06:16 -0500

While Gothamist wonders what will be going in, Curbed/Racked has the scoop..a gym. However...kudos to Jen for no typos or grammatical errors this time. Its feeloders like "SAD" or Park Slope Stroller Moms who use B&N as a library that are doing in their bricks & mortar stores

Damian

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:52:44 -0500

I'm guessing it'll be a bank, since the nearest ATM lobby is at least 50 feet from that location. Or another $tarbuck$.

SAD

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:49:22 -0500

I haven't been inside of a Starbucks in a year, but I'm sad that I'll no longer be able to say that I know this one crazy intersection that essentially has a Starbucks across from a Starbucks across from a Starbucks (the one in the Cooper Union building, the one in B&N, and the other one). And alas, when I was a poor college student, that was the B&N I would go to for hours on end to read new books that I couldn't afford to buy.

robin.g

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:58:35 -0500

Bummer! There goes an available restroom!

shedwa

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:41:01 -0500

Oh man, now the lines at the Starbuck's bathroom across the street are going to be even longer.

Mark

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:38:42 -0500

From my experience, rents are running beyond what retailers can afford these days. How's $12,500/month for 300 square feet of retail space? I saw it the other day!

ping

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:38:18 -0500

Coming right up, more "luxury" condos!

raronauer

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:27:22 -0500

This bums me out. That B&N was a great place to kill time.