Books of Wonder announced Tuesday that it would be closing its store at 217 West 84th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, by the end of June. It first opened this location in November 2017.
The building was recently sold and the new owner prefers it to be vacant, so Books of Wonder’s lease will not be renewed.
“To thank you and all our wonderful customers on the Upper West Side for all your support and appreciation (and to help us clear our shelves!), we will be offering a 20% discount on everything in our West 84th Street store this week. To take advantage of this big sale, just stop by 217 West 84th Street, enjoy the savings, and help us give the space a proper send-off.”
Hopefully, Books of Wonder will be back in the neighborhood very soon.
“We are hoping to secure a new location and open an exciting new store on the Upper West Side by the end of summer or early fall,” a rep for the company wrote on Facebook. “We love the Upper West Side and hope to continue being a part of the supportive and welcoming community that has been so wonderful over the past years.”
None of the apartment leases will be renewed at the building either, as we mentioned in a recent round-up of real estate news. In May, someone who lives there told us how many long-term tenants were very disappointed when they first discovered they’d have to move, as the building and staff have provided them with a great sense of community for many years.
In a related update, our tipster – ‘Upper West Sider’ – sent us this link, which shows that the new owner is development firm Naftali Group. This company is behind two recent condominium projects on Madison Avenue, which were covered on EastSideFeed.com.
There must be some legal remedy for the tenants (at least some of them) with regard to the new owner. I have never heard of an actively occupied building being sold to a new owner, and the owner NOT being responsible for the current rent roll, or being able to evict an entire building simply by refusing to renew leases.
It is also ironic, in that Eagle Court (the building in question) was built on the site of three or four former townhouses or small apartment buildings which themselves were left empty – with many homeless people – when the former landlord burned them to the ground for the insurance money. during that period when landlords were doing such things in the 70s and 80s. So now, a “new” form of widespread eviction is being used.
The tenants should fight this.