QUEENS — New York & Company, a women's clothing retailer, has unexpectedly closed its Forest Hills location, locals said.
By Wednesday, the store at 71-40 Austin St., which slashed its prices in recent weeks, was empty and a sign posted in the window read “Store is close [sic]", even though it was still listed on the company’s website as of Friday.
Photo: DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska
“It was a busy store,” said Leslie Brown, president of the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce, who said she was surprised to see it closed.
“The only thing I can think of is that the rent is too high and people are internet shopping," she speculated.
The store, adjacent to a Victoria's Secret, and in the middle of Austin Street, a major commercial strip in the neighborhood, first opened about a decade ago, according to Brown.
“It is a loss to the neighborhood, even though it was a chain store,” she said.
The chain and the landlord did not respond to requests seeking comment.
New York & Company has four other locations in Queens — on Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood, on Steinway Street in Astoria, in the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst and at the Bay Terrace in Bayside.
