On the heels of next week's National-Read-A-Book-Day, we have some very sad news. Later this year, the last two Barnes & Nobles in Queens will officially close.
The bookstore chain is vacating its Bayside home near the Throgs Neck Bridge. In its place, a 25,000-square-foot HomeGoods will barrel in.
This torrent of sad information follows on the heels of Barnes & Nobles' announcement that they're also closing their Forest Hills location, despite a valiant effort from the community to rescue the bookstore.
"Saving a chain store may seem ironic at first sight, but we already lost all of our small bookstores in the area," said community member Michael Dore. "This is where locals have been going to for decades. It's simply a part of Forest Hills history."
Barnes & Noble's Forest Hills location will be replaced by a Target.
So what can you do to help? Well for one, don't shop for books online. Amazon is astonishingly convenient, but it's also systematically stamping out the publishing and booksellers industry.
When you buy a book on the internet, that book is dropped off on your doorstep. What you lose in the process is the community location; where people can gather for readings, shopping, and camaraderie in book loving.
This is the camaraderie these Barnes & Nobles brought the residents of Queens.
"Despite our best efforts to secure lease extensions at both our Forest Hills and Bayside Barnes & Noble locations, the respective property owners decided to lease to other tenants," David Deason, a Vice President at Barnes & Noble said.
Deason also said HomeGoods was willing to pay "rents far in excess of what we were willing to pay."
Barnes & Noble, however, does not plan on quitting.
"The Queens community is extremely important to us, and as a result we are aggressively looking at new locations and expect to have a new store there in the future," Deason said.
Barnes & Noble, we admire your voracity. To everyone else, celebrate National-Read-A-Book-Day next week by spending your hard-earned money at the bookstores we've still got left.
Check out 7 Best Book Bars to Throw Back a Few Drinks in NYC.
[via Crain's]