It's a Friday afternoon edition of Storefronting, our regular report from the front lines of the city's changing storescape. Next week, Storefronting will be born anew. But that's a story for another day. Meantime, tips on these matters are always appreciated.
1) Soho: Well, look at that—the ground floor space of Andre Balazs' undulatious One Kenmare Square in Soho finally found a retail tenant. Coming this summer: the interior design stylings of Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams. [Storefronting Staff]
2) Park Slope: Brace yourself: Bank of America has just opened another storefront. Hold your scorn in check for a second, though—we hear it's a good addition to the neighborhood. Well, Gowanus Lounge is for it: "The new Bank of America ATM storefront brings banking to Seventh Avenue near Ninth Street to a stretch where the only ATMs were previously those over-priced ones you find in storefronts. We don't cheer bank branches and more than we do any other chain retailer...but this part of Seventh Avenue next to the F Train actually needed a bank." [Gowanus Lounge]
3) Greenpoint: People really love bookstores. Not enough to keep many in business, but still, they're a good idea in theory, right? New York Shitty 'bout crapped her pants over Greenpoint's newly opened Word Books. "I'll be frank: when I noticed the phrase "Kids' Stuff" on the facade I started to get really turned off. But I overcame my apprehension and went inside to discover? books for big kids. In English, no less! Go check them out, they just got a big shipment of books today!" [New York Shitty]
4) Lower East Side: Those cold, calculating condo builders have put the kibosh on yet another LES business. Orchard Street Art Gallery, which has been around since 2002—ages before most current LES residents moved to the hood—is putting on a final show, titled, aptly, "Grand Closing," on April 6th from 6-9pm. [Loho10002]
5) Harlem: Grandma's Place sounds like a store chock-full of flowery house dresses and doilies, but instead is a toy store on 120th and Lenox. Apparently, there's a "look but don't touch" policy in effect. Sounds just like our grandma's house! [Harlem Fur]