Queens, N.Y., "will be left with just one Barnes & Noble as of next year" when the bookstore at 7000 Austin St. in Forest Hills closes in January, the New York Daily News reported. The store opened in 1995. The last remaining B&N in Queens is in Bayside.
Jeff Kay, COO of Muss Development, which is B&N's Forest Hills landlord, told the Daily News the 22,000-square-foot retail space will be hitting the market: "We're talking to some national retailers."
Last October, B&N announced the impending closure store of its Fresh Meadows store in Queens because the company "could not reach a new lease agreement with the property owner." That decision sparked an unsuccessful online petition drive to save the bookstore, which was inspired by a similar effort that convinced the landlord to extend B&N's lease on a Bronx store for two years with no increase in rent.
