Jackson Heights Life

Interesting rumor. Positioning a B&N above 82nd St would do a lot for that section of JH, I think.

Where are these rumors coming from?  Do people just make them up or do they actually originate with someone saying something like, "I know someone in Corporate Affairs at B&N and she told me..."

What is that block zoned for and is it in the Historic District?

Well, stopped in at Flagship again.  That place has been part of my life since my post-colle partment mates and I hung there, through the current great ownership.  They were going to close today, but he thinks he may open a few more days.  Just as sad though. 

But every cloud has a silver lining ... almost everyday since Luc could walk, he wanted a gumball from the machine.  The owner even gave him quarters sometimes, they are big fans of his.  So when I was chatting with him on Saturday, and he said hew as selling everything, he wasn't kidding and we struck a deal. 

The look on my son's face when he saw his new 5 foot gumball machine, priceless.  (And worth the funny looks I got pushing it on a dolly down 79th Street)

the problem with that kind of change -- at least insofar as it applies to willamsburg and astoria -- is that the new stores never last. they die on the vine after three, six or 12 months. very very few stay in business, because, frankly, while people may need a jar of tasmanian sea salt or a vintage feather boa (or, less sarcastically, a luxury item like a custom leather briefcase) every once in a great while, they aren't things that one needs to stop in for every tuesday and thursday. i lived in astoria for a few years, before the rents tripled, and the old-school places were fading, but had been there for three, four, five decades. once they were displaced, the turnover became a yearly thing in a lot of stores along broadway and 30th. i am not saying that change is, in and of itself, bad. but it's not, in and of itself, good.

Like it or not this neighborhood is changing and the landlords are aware of this therefore the stores will change along with the population.  I am sure this very same thing happened in Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Williamsburg and Astoria.  I think it's called re-gentrification.  

Do you really feel that sort of operation provides a value to the community, or would you rather see someone establish a business that wants to set roots in the neighborhood and improve the quality of life or just offer clean, well-folded merchandise on nomadic folding tables?

I prefer to see a storefront that's occupied, as opposed to a storefront that is papered-over (such as the former Gothic Cabinetcraft) or a storefront that is covered with acid-etched graffiti (former shoe store on the same block as the Cavalier).

Click on jheightsgirl's photo essay http://picasaweb.google.com/jheightsgirl/JHeightsStorefrontsFeb2010# for a reminder about how blighted our streets can look when we have storefronts sitting empty for too long.

Thanks.

Here's our piece of Flagship, in it's new home!

Favorite line:  "What do you mean only two a day?"

Rob, that's adorable!  The thing is bigger than him!!