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Barnes & Noble May Soon Close its Last Store in Queens

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | August 27, 2015 3:27pm
 The Bayside Barnes & Noble might be forced to move out after a lease disagreement, the chain said.
The Bayside Barnes & Noble might be forced to move out after a lease disagreement, the chain said.
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Barnes and Noble

QUEENS — 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.

The Forest Hills and Bayside locations are the last Barnes & Noble stores in Queens, after the chain closed its location on Union Turnpike in Fresh Meadows last year.

"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," said David Deason, the vice president of development at Barnes & Noble.

“When our lease came back up for renewal the property owner notified us that they chose a tenant who was willing to pay rents far in excess of what we were willing to pay," Deason added, referring to the Bayside store which is located within the Bay Terrace complex.

A representative for Cord Meyer Development, the landlord in Bayside, said Thursday the company has “no comment at this time,” adding that Barnes & Noble is still its "current tenant.”

It was not immediately clear when the lease on the Bayside location expires.

Sources said that HomeGoods may be replacing the bookstore at the Bay Terrace complex.

HomeGoods did not respond to emails seeking comment.

The bookstore chain said it won't give up on Queens.

"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.