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'Walk of Shame' Wall Offers $5 Thongs at Union Square Station Kiosk

By Noah Hurowitz | November 30, 2015 3:12pm
 The New Stand offers straphangers tried-and-true staples like bottled water, while also slinging fancy juice and curating daily playlists and editorial content for every step of the commute.
The New Stand
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Taking the walk of shame through Union Square station? There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

A newfangled newsstand called The New Stand opened last week inside the 14th Street-Union Square subway station, offering key necessities for commuters looking to show up to work fresh after a long night out.

There's a particular section dedicated to the "Walk of Shame," offering undies, fashion first aid tools and revitalizing juices for those in need of a pick-me-up, according to Lex Kendall, a self-described serial entrepreneur who in addition to this store, helped launch Evolve, a series of electric motorcycles.

Tucked into the concourse near the entrance to the L train at 14th Street near Broadway, the new store sells snacks and $1 bottled water alongside pricier items like bluetooth speakers and a $40 beanie.

The New Stand offers a space-age take on the classic New York newsstand, with simple white walls, moveable magnetic shelf fixtures, Drake’s “Hotline Bling” played on a loop through the stereo, and a smartphone app that offers member deals (pressed juice for $4!), a daily playlist, and curated news stories to read on the train.

“We’re just thinking about how we can be the modern manifestation of the newsstand,” Kendall said. “We want to give you something that’s going to uplift you.”

Kendall, his co-founders, and his team of eight full-time and four part-time workers have been working on the concept for close to two years.

They negotiated a 10-year-lease with the MTA and built a model of the store in the company's Chelsea office, he said.

And their vision doesn't stop there.

The team also opened a stand in Brookfield Place on Friday, and are in talks with the MTA about opening another outpost at the Rockefeller Center station, according to Kendall.

The Brookfield Place location is larger than the 12-foot-by-12-foot Union Square stand, which will allow for a more flexible layout and more collaborations with beauty and fashion brands, especially those that are local, Kendall said.

“We really hope to be a launch pad for some of our friends making stuff in Brooklyn,” he explained.

Kendall said he tries to keep prices reasonable to avoid coming across as an hipster invasion, Kendall said.

“People really have a hipster axe to grind, and I didn’t want it to be like ‘Oh God, the hipsters are coming,'” he said. “Accessibility is one of our biggest concerns. We’re just trying to make people’s commutes better.”

The New Stand is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.