The Barnes & Noble at Lincon Center is closing at the end of the year. New York Times reporter Julie Bosman spent some time at the mega store yesterday.
In the age of e-books and on-line retailers, have your attitudes towards chain book stores changed? Will you miss the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Center?
Comments [21]
Just a Latter Day 2nd Input -As I recall Tower Records was on the West
Side of Broadway where Furniture Store is - Further Most "small" Bookstores & I have Gotten So Many Books from Them =They are 2nd Hand (OLD=Used & 1 of a Kind ) !!!
Yes ! Prior to This 66thSt B&N Building -
Being BUILT = There was a ART Film
Movie House There, & a Bank (Euro or Israeli) !!!!!
As Soon as I Retired, after I saw the Firm, I helped to BUILD & Took Over The Building
& even Went into Buildings (East & West) !
& Saw Business Change !!! Had Some 120
Employees !!!! I was a Graphic Designer -
Put Circular Burst in 'Tommy' Poster !!!! &
Typography of 'Sophie's Choice' Poster !!!!
& I applied To Work at B&N at 66th !!!!
Hope B&N Will Put Out a Mural Miniature !!!!
Know More of Me = Google My Name !!!!!
Dear Mr Riggio - Sorry For Our Loss !!!
Hope You will Have My Friend, Steve
'HutchinsonFilms.com' - Video The Whole Store - Top to Bottom as a Lasting Record
of One of the Nicest Aspects of Later-Day
Capitalism !!!!! Before, in a Few Months -
You start Discounting Books (Greatly) to
Lessen Your Moving Problem in December !
We Do Need a "CHANGE" & I Believe, as We Have Had So Many Books on the Corruptions & Deceits Thru-Out the WORLD - especially here with Our Past History re: Slavery & The Genocide of The Native Peoples & alas Far More Today!
Socialism is the Future Government of ALL
Good & Gentle People ! Long Live R Nader!
How about a Color Print of The B&N Mural?
If I Can Be of Any Help, Please Call on Me!
Actually, it was an independent film theater that used to be in the B&N space. Tower Records was across the street.
Hi, I love that Barnes andNoblstore. When I first came to New York in 1996. I used to go there all the time. It's huge and has a lot of great stuff. I will miss it. Eugenia Renskoff
A recent New York magazine piece profiled the "indie-bookstore renaissance" in NYC.
http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/indie-bookstore/
Go to The Strand -- huge inventory and great prices. May not be a "destination" for coffee but if you want physical contact with books -- that's the place.
Pretty soon, there won't be any need to ever leave our apartments....
Tough challenges for all bookstores with the e-readers. I still favor reading books as opposed to reading everything on a screen.
I'd like to know where the Mayor and his small business Commissioner Robert Walsh is with this trend. Don't hear much from his corner at all.
The Barnes & Noble in Hoboken, NJ closed this past spring. The reason they cited was that their rent was raised. The landlord said they had a long term lease and the rent was not raised.
Henry, Tower Records was across the street. B"&N has been the tenant in this space since the building went up. And believe it or not it's been more than ten years!
A footnote: B&N's basement music store at that location is one of the few places you can still walk in and buy a DVD or CD.
No they haven't changed the "hanging out" and browsing aspect at all. I go to the union Square location often enough and do that. I happen to enjoy that as well, which is why I like B&N.
Some large retail spaces in midtown have remained vacant for years now. I have no idea what will ever go into those places!
I agree with DarkSymbolist. This really is a story about how high the rents are and how all these businesses are closing with no one to replace them.
There has been a vacant retail space in my neighborhood for over 8 years. It was occupied by a Blockbuster for about 2 years, then a Rent-a-Center, which closed.
The B&N on Astor Place (already mentioned) closed - said to be b/c of huge rent increase. The B&N at 6th Ave. & 21st Street (now Trader Joe's) closed reportedly b/c of huge rent increase.
Landlords, it seems, would rather have vacant building than "reasonable" rent.
When B&N was priced out of their 6th Av Chelsea store, the space sat empty for well over a year. One wonders if Trader Joes, who opened there recently, pays more rent or less than B&N did.
The real story here isn't the closing of BN, it's that Real Estate Landlords have wrecked the balance of this city by asking obscene rates, greedily ignoring current market conditions.
Whether uptown or downtown, east side or west side, it's the same wherever you go.
Rents are too high. Once they're lowered you will see businesses come back in, and thrive.
I am glad it's closing. B&N preyed on small bookstores and moved to the neighborhoods where independent bookstores were doing well, as with Shakespeare in the W. 80s. In Lincoln Center it was Coliseum Books, which was a wonderful place.
The used book sellers on the streets by broadway and 72 can get you any book you are looking for in one day. Use them. Im pretty sure their overhead is zero dollars.
Look...if B&N can't afford to pay rent in that neighborhood, then how can a small mom & pop? Isn't the real story not B&N vs. the small bookstores but rather the ridiculous rents in this city? The rents make it hard for small businesses...
This B & N hasn't even been there that long. Have we all forgotten that the location used to be Tower Records? It closed maybe 10 years ago. This really shouldn't be a big deal especially since B & N was at fault for smaller bookstores closing up shop.
i just order online. chain bookstores never have what i want in stock when i used to walk in.
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