At a press conference with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr, and many elected officials as well as representatives from Barnes & Noble and Prestige Properties it was announced that bookstore will stay in Bay Plaza in Co-op City.
Diaz said that when news reached his office that the bookstore was going to close, his, “phone was burning with phone calls from Bronxites and elected officials.”
“We are pleased to announce that we are staying in the Bronx”, said Frank Morabito a representative of Barnes & Noble.
In a press release issued by the Borough President’s office, Sam Shalem, Chairman and CEO of Prestige Properties said, “As a courtesy to the community and upon request of the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr, we made every effort to ensure that Barnes & Noble remains at their current location…we are thankful for the Borough President’s assistance in making this happen.”
It should be noted, however, that the lease is only for 2 years so the future is still murky. Mr Morabito did not want to elaborate further and said that when the extension is up, the appropriate conversations will be had at that time.
Residents, however, were overjoyed that for now we are keeping the store.
We thank everyone who said no to this happening to our borough and everyone who signed the petition and made phone calls to stop this. We thank the Borough President and his office for working hard in not letting the worst case scenario happen.
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