Barnes & Noble may have written
its final chapter at the Bay Plaza Mall
20
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APRIL 1-7, 2022 BXR
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Six years after closing their
doors, the story of a potential
reopening of the Bay Plaza Mall
Barnes & Noble is a mystery for
Bronx bookworms.
Buoyed by previous fervent
community support calling for
the bookstore’s reopening, organizers
behind the reopening
said that Barnes & Noble officials
promised a reopening 36
months after its 2016 closure. But
the building remains vacant, and
residents are concerned without
another general-interest bookstore
available in the Bronx, a
borough with declining literacy
rates and inaccessibility to libraries
could face further systematic
challenges.
A change.org petition to reopen
the former 290 Baychester
Ave. bookstore, started by Bronx
natives Jaeydon McBayne and
Hadiyah Braithwaite, has generated
more than 600 signatures in
its first week.
“The Bronx has the lowest literacy
rate of the five boroughs,
with nearly 70 percent of thirdgrade
students in the South
Bronx reading below their grade
level. Many talented and legendary
writers lived in and found
their inspiration here in The
Bronx: Edgar Allan Poe, James
Baldwin, and Stan Lee just to
name a few,” writes Braithwaite
in the petition. “The lack of an accessible
place for Bronx residents
to acquire a wide range of novels,
textbooks, test prep guides,
and children’s books can make it
more difficult for the community
to uplift and inspire the next generation
of children to reach such
heights.”
Barnes & Noble officials told
the Bronx Times they closed the
bookstore due to “a period of
decline” which led to its acquisition
by the hedge fund Elliott
Advisors for $638 million. However,
rising book sales had led
a revamped Barnes & Noble to
explore the opening of 20 stores
— 10 new stores opened last year
and 10 are under construction
— and said there is strong motivation
to open a Bronx-bound
bookstore in the future.
Sam Shalem, chairman and
chief executive officer at Prestige
Properties — owner of the
Bay Plaza Shopping Center —
told the Times that Barnes &
Noble is still on the building’s
lease, but conversations haven’t
involved a bookstore reopening.
The bookstore was the borough’s
only general-interest
bookstore when it opened in
1999.
Saks OFF 5th, a premium
outlet and subsidiary unit of
Saks Fifth Avenue, took over
the lease in 2017, but closed their
doors after just two years.
Every borough besides the
Bronx has at least one Barnes &
Noble branch, with Manhattan
being home to four that are currently
open. Barnes & Noble has
multiple branches in Westchester
County that Bronx residents
state are inconvenient to commute
to.
“The love that The Bronx
has for our Barnes & Noble has
never gone away, and this is our
time to use that passion for real
change,” Braithwaite states.
Barnes & Noble officials said
they are canvassing for suggestions
of potential locations for a
Bronx-based bookstore and asks
that suggestions be sent to pr@
bn.com, marked “The Bronx”.
James Daunt Barnes & Noble
CEO, emailed Hadiyah Braithwaite
on Tuesday to confirm
that the petition had been “very
well received” and as talks and
agreements for new stores in
other boroughs are soon to be
concluded, a future Bronx storefront
is in the works.
Barnes & Noble still has a loyal audience of bookworms clamoring for its return. But if Barnes ~amp Noble does return to the Bronx,
it may not be at the Bay Plaza Mall. File photo
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Pay less.
Earn more.
Start your
future now.
cuny.edu/twoyear
/change.org
/bn.com
/twoyear