Years ago, you might have seen me at FAO Schwarz on 5^th Avenue.

If you were a kid in the 90s, you might even have a picture with me. The iconic toy store was my first employer in NYC, and I loved working there. I started as toy demonstrator and was eventually asked to become a costumed character. That "Toy Soldier" you took a picture with might just be me.

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Working at FAO was a liberating experience. I’d grown up in small towns, and to say I didn’t quite fit in would be an understatement. I liked sports, but also liked comic books and action figures.

While it’s no big deal to like superheroes these days, they weren’t very mainstream not so long ago, especially in small towns. Nerds weren’t cool, they were to be derided and scorned. I was teased mercilessly for liking comics and toys.

So imagine my exhilaration at finding a job where my enthusiasm and knowledge for toys was not only embraced, but valued.

FAO Schwarz actually paid me to play with toys and talk about them! It also showed me that there were many other people with the same interests. I wasn’t weird anymore, I was accepted, and had found my people.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I felt like Tom Hanks in Big. Being able to dance on the giant piano whenever I felt like it didn’t hurt that analogy at all.

As time went on, FAO Schwarz would morph and change. They made the in-store elevator look like a giant toy robot.

Foreshadowing Marvel’s dominance over today’s movies, they installed a full-on Marvel section devoted to the X-Men, Spider-Man, and even The Avengers.

One day, while being paid to play with Marvel action figures, Stan Lee wandered in. For a lifelong comic book fan to meet the Godfather of Marvel, that was a dream come true.

Costumed characters came and went, although the "Toy Soldier" remained a constant.

FAO Schwarz would feature clowns, jugglers, Raggedy Ann and Andy, magicians, and a myriad of other characters to delight children and grownups.

They even developed their own superhero, Infoman. His costume was ostensibly based on the robot elevator and the character was supposed to know everything about the store.

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To let you in on Infoman’s secret identity, he was me. I got asked to play Infoman because it was common knowledge that I was a great big nerd who not only knew everything about the store, but lots about different toy lines to boot.

I also happened to be a fountain of information about superheroes and comics and knew a lot about the geography of that area of the city, where to send people looking for places to eat, landmarks, what have you.

But the kicker was that I was a massive smartass who didn’t have a problem walking around in tights and a cape.

And so began a year of an absolute dream job for a small town boy who’d been made fun of for loving superheroes; being paid to be a superhero! I would practically dance out of bed in the morning, and float on a cloud during the train ride to work.

I got to play with toys. I got to dress up like a superhero. I got to see the wonder and delight on the faces of not only children, but adults. Every. Single. Day. And I got paid for that.

And if you have a picture or yourself as a kid, standing in front of FAO Schwarz with a silver superhero in a red cape, that was totally me.

Infoman got to meet celebrities, showed up on television a few times, and once, even stopped a crime!

Granted, I didn’t know I was stopping a crime, but I did actually chase down and scare off two teenagers from stealing another guy’s hockey bag. How many other people can say that they stopped a crime in NYC wearing tights and a cape?

The job gave me a good look, up close and personal, to what FAO Schwarz meant to children and families the world over, not just those from New York. Squeals of joy were commonplace as people entered the store.

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People used to ask me if the giant singing clock tower that greeted people as they walked in ever annoyed me, but it really didn’t. You would be in such a good mood working there, that something like that couldn’t even begin to put a dent in it.

But it was the magic the store brought to its visitors that was the best thing about FAO Schwarz.

It’s easy to take something like this for granted in NYC, but you have to keep in mind that stores like FAO are pretty rare. Even in comparison to the other locations, the 5^th Avenue Flagship was something magical.

This helped create a coveted status of getting something from FAO Schwarz. Even a small item for a couple bucks would make a child amazingly happy.

For many kids, this was the only brand worth anything.

A toy in an FAO Schwarz box was held in much higher regard than the same item from Toys "R" Us. Indeed, that’s a big reason why they would eventually buy FAO Schwarz. That kind of brand recognition, that kind of magic, means you can charge more for the same item.

There was a practical magic the job bestowed upon me as well. I developed deep friendships with the people I met working there. The Best Man at my wedding started his relationship with me as a workmate at the FAO Schwarz on 5^th Avenue.

But beyond all of this, FAO Schwarz helped teach me to fully accept myself. It’s okay to be a nerd. There is still a place for you in this world, especially in this city. New York is famously hard on people, but it can encourage them as well. That’s why New Yorkers love it here, after all.

So it was a like a direct punch to the stomach to hear that FAO Schwarz flagship on 5^th Avenue store was shutting down. A chapter has closed, the magic has ended, and even though FAO will re-open in a new location, New York City won’t be the same for it.

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To be completely honest, FAO Schwarz hasn’t really been the same for a long time; it has been a subsidiary of Toys "R" Us since 2009.

And it's not even the first time that store has closed, it missed most of a year when the original company went bankrupt, and the store closed from January to the end of November in 2004. That may have the beginning of the end, but the magic still lingered.

When Toys "R" Us announced it was closing its own Times Square flagship store due to exorbitant rents, it was only a matter of time before the iconic FAO Schwarz shuttered too.

Stop and think about this for just a moment. Rents are now too high for big corporations in Manhattan. That’s how bad things have gotten.

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We’ve been writing about how local Gotham businesses are getting squeezed out, about what icons NYC has lost, and have supported the #SaveNYC campaign to push back against this phenomenon, but this shuttering is a big blow-- just above and beyond belief.

Toys "R" Us is one of the most recognizable corporate brands in America, and they can’t afford the rents in NYC. What chance do the rest of us have?

The magic of FAO Schwarz greatly added to the charm and personality of Midtown Manhattan, and with it gone, so goes that magic.

Relocation won’t bring back the feelings the 5^th Avenue store instilled.

New Yorkers take their city for granted.

That’s understandable to a degree, but when it gets to the point of apathy, our city’s identity gets stripped piece by piece. And we just lost a big chunk of it with the closing of 5^th Avenue's FAO Schwarz.

If you don’t want this to continue, you need to push back. Yes, you. And it’s simple to do. Give Olive Garden a miss. Walk past that Subway sandwich franchise and walk into a local bodega or deli. Support your local NYC businesses, and slow the corporate takeover however you can.

The magic of the 5^th Avenue store brought smiles to New Yorkers young and old for decades.

Thank you FAO Schwarz, for showing me that there’s a place for me in this world. I only wish I could have done more to save yours.

#SaveNYC: Read our stories on DiFara Pizza, McSorley's Old Ale House, and Katz's Deli. 

[Feature Image Courtesy: Gary Burke]