A New Chapter

By Carl Glassman
POSTED DECEMBER 1, 2007

Emily Stein, a 27-year resident of Tribeca, walked into the new Barnes & Noble on Warren Street, gazed wide-eyed at the 38,000 square foot store around her, and all but gasped.

“Wow,” she exclaimed, “who would have thought!”

Stein, and many others from the neighborhood who attended the store’s preview celebration on Nov. 27, were not just seeing a big chain store filled with endless shelves of books, but a quantum commercial leap for Tribeca, and many familiar faces that seemed strangely out of place.

It was with a mixture of exhilaration and wistful resignation that residents roamed the aisles, sampled from the many platters of hors d’oeuvres, and chatted with friends about both the convenience of the cavernous new stores—Bed, Bath and Beyond next door, Whole Foods coming—and the seismic neighborhood change that goes with it.

“It doesn’t feel like we’re in Tribeca,” remarked Loretta Thomas, a resident since 1981, who said that despite the dreaded traffic, she was happy to be close to a book store and looking forward to Whole Foods.

“If we have to have the development, we might as well reap the benefits,” said Vivian Farmery, referring to the apartment towers that have risen with the stores.

Many in attendance were parents accompanied by children—10 percent of proceeds from the evening were to go to the local schools—and they were especially happy to have the new neighborhood destination.

“My baby sitter is pumped,” noted Pam Frederick, the mother of three young children. “She says she’s going here every day.”

The local school principals, all in attendance at the party, had already been in discussions with Barnes & Noble management and plans are afoot for partnerships: book fairs for P.S. 234, for example, and monthly class visits to the store with parents for P.S. 89. “I see this as an amazing thing,” said P.S. 234 principal Lisa Ripperger

Joanna Molloy, a Thomas Street resident, beamed at her 9-year-old.

“Look, my son is actually reading a book,” said the mom, who often has to tear her boy away from video games. “It brings tears to my eyes.”

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