Queens still reads

From CBS880:

A group of women from Queens are making an active effort to keep bookshops alive in the borough.

In the beginning of January, Barnes and Nobles closed their locations in Bayside, Fresh Meadows and Forest Hills. Now, Natalie Noboa, 23, of Forest Hills, has teamed up with a few of her friends to start the Queens Bookshop initiative, dedicated to bringing bookstores back to the borough.

Noboa and her friends passed out flyers to spread the word about getting another bookstore opened in the area. They are also relying heavily on social media to spread the word.

For more information, and to get involved, click here.

Home Goods to replace Bay Terrace Barnes & Noble

From the Times Ledger:

The Bay Terrace Shopping Center will be losing its Barnes & Noble bookstore, which has called the Bayside commercial center home since 1993.

In its place, Bay Terrace owner and caretaker the Cord Meyer Development Company has signed with HomeGoods store, a company owned by TJ Maxx, on a new lease, but said it could not disclose the exact timeline of the move.

HomeGoods did not return requests for comment.

The new HomeGoods store should be expected to occupy the 25,000-square-foot commercial space by early 2016, Cord Meyer Leasing Assistant Joy Mangone said. Renovation of the space is not expected to incur any major reconstruction at the shopping center.

Barnes & Noble Vice President of Development David Deason said the decision to close was beyond the company’s control and a matter of cost for renting the space.

Bay Terrace Barnes and Noble loses lease

From DNA Info:

It’s a tough time for booklovers in Queens.

The Bayside Barnes & Noble, at 23-80 Bell Blvd., might close down soon, as the bookstore chain said it was not able to reach an agreement with the landlord over its lease.

The news comes on the heels of an announcement that the Forest Hills location, which opened in 1995, will close in January next year and will be replaced in July by Target.

Target replacing Forest Hills B&N

From the Daily News:

A new Target store is slated to take over the space formerly occupied by Barnes & Noble at 7000 Austin St., in Forest Hills, the Daily News has learned. The store will be the first flexible-sized location in Queens for Target, which has recently been offering more compact shopping experiences for city-dwellers.

Target inked a deal for a 15-year, 20,795-square-foot lease and is slated to open at the property in mid-2016.

Do people even read books anymore?

From Crains:

At one time, New Yorkers regarded chain bookstores as corporate invaders certain to drive independently owned bookshops out of their communities.

But now it is the chain bookstores that need saving—and in one Queens neighborhood, locals are stepping up.

Forest Hills residents are trying to rescue a Barnes & Noble that appears to be on its final chapter. The business, which like all brick-and-mortar bookstores has lost sales to Amazon and other Internet retailers, is minimally profitable and faces closure when its lease expires Jan. 31.

"Saving a chain store may seem ironic at first sight, but we already lost all of our small bookstores in the area," said Michele Dore, co-founder of the new (if awkwardly named) civic association Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens—Our Communities. "This is where locals have been going to for decades. It's simply a part of Forest Hills history."

Since 1995, the store at 70-00 Austin St. has become a popular hangout spot for teens, seniors and families. But talks between Barnes & Noble and its landlord, Muss Development, have bogged down over a proposed rent increase.

“We would like to extend the store at the rent we're paying or somewhere around it,” said David Deason, vice president of development at Barnes & Noble. “As a public company, we can't afford to operate a store and lose money. We have shareholders to think about. We will stretch as far as we can go.”

But competition from e-commerce has eroded the store's elasticity. Muss Development's chief operating officer, Jeff Kay, said Barnes & Noble has received multiple rent reductions in the past.

Fun times at Barnes & Noble

FREE SPECIAL EVENT at Barnes & Noble at 70-00 Austin St. on SUN, MAY 31 from 10:00 AM to 7 PM

Barnes & Noble and Author Michael Perlman (5 PM book signing) are proud to invite the community to Customer Appreciation Day. The eventful lineup will feature:

- A book “Buy-In” to help support Barnes & Noble, which is under threat of closing… Purchase any book all day long.

- Free food from Knish Nosh, Red Pipe Organic Café, & more

- Beginning at 10 AM: Raffle – Enter to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook 7” tablet!

Free B&N tote bag for the 1st 200 customers making a purchase.

- 2:30 PM: Children’s storytime with SKITTLES THE CLOWN, balloon animals & face painting

- 4 PM: Performances by notable musicians LOU MICHAELS & DOUG LEBLANG

- 5 PM: Author MICHAEL PERLMAN will have a book talk & signing of his new book, “Legendary Locals of Forest Hills and Rego Park” & notable magician MICHAEL CHAUT will leave his audience spell-bound

Barnes & Noble event listing: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/4852693
More to come! Please invite your friends.

And… Don’t forget to sign the petition to save Barnes & Noble.

Barnes and Noble in Fresh Meadows to close

From the Daily News:

Barnes & Noble is closing one of its three Queens stores by the end of the year, officials said.

The book megastore, located near St. John’s University in Fresh Meadows, could not negotiate a new lease for its Union Turnpike digs.

“We had discussions with the property owner to try to structure a lease extension but were not able to come to an agreement,” said David Deason, Barnes & Noble vice president of development.

The big-box store opened 10 years ago. Local residents have heard rumors the site will be transformed into a T.J. Maxx clothing store.

End of Astoria's only bookstore

From the Queens Gazette:

Astoria’s only independent bookstore is about to write its final chapter.

Seaburn Books will close its doors for the last time at the end of December, the victim of a rent hike, slumping sales and competition from online book merchants, owner Sam Chekwas said.

Chekwas said Seaburn Books opened on Broadway in Astoria 16 years ago and has been losing money for years. The store is located in a high rent area where a high sales volume is needed to make ends meet.

Many customers come to the store asking for digital books for their NOOKs and Kindles, and Seaburn just couldn’t compete.

Bye, bye Borders!

From the Times Ledger:

One of the keystone businesses at The Shops at Atlas Park has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Borders, which occupies a prominent space at the shops, at 80-00 Cooper Ave., announced Monday it will begin the process of liquidation.

The collapse of the book-selling giant will eliminate roughly 11,000 jobs at roughly 400 stores and will be the final chapter for the store in Queens, even though the Atlas Park site avoided a similar fate earlier this year.

In February, Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed 200 stores around the country, but The Shops at Atlas Park was spared.

Hard to find bookstores in Queens

From the Daily News:

Queens may offer some of the best shopping in the city - and is home to the most profitable mall in the nation - but it could be the worst borough to find a good read.

With only five chain bookstores boroughwide and one notable independent retailer, most residents must trek to Manhattan or Long Island to find the latest best-seller, or buy it online.

Rising rents and dwindling profits have forced many branches to shut down completely...

Even Queens Center Mall, which boasts the highest revenue per square foot of any shopping center in the nation, is deemed a bad location for selling popular tomes. Not one of its 150 storefronts is a bookstore.

Many residents have requested a book haven in the mall, said spokeswoman Dawn Simon. But retailers haven't looked for a space since Walden Books left about 10 years ago, she said.

With only five major bookstores - one of which is a Borders in Terminal 5 at JFK Airport - for the entire borough of Queens, and the recent closings of 14 library branches on Saturdays, some say the demand is only growing.

Well, we could have had one at Flushing Commons. But the City decided that it was ok for a developer to put more luxury condos there instead.