Monday, July 27, 2026

Signage alert: Barnes & Noble on Avenue A

The first of the coming-soon signage for Barnes & Noble is up at 181 Avenue A, between 11th and 12th Streets. 

The bookseller is expected to debut its 11,600-square-foot storefront here in November, per the Barnes & Noble website.
B&N will be the first retail tenant in the base of Steiner East Village, which has been vacant since residents began moving into the condoplex eight years ago. 

A church, school and rectory for Mary Help of Christians were here until demoliton time in the summer of 2013.

Developer Douglas Steiner bought the former Mary Help of Christians property in 2012 from the Archdiocese of New York for $41 million.
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 27, 2026 at 7:31 AM

    Less churches, more housing.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 27, 2026 at 8:52 AM

      Churches are great for the soul. You want diversity yet churches are the most diverse world wide. Mexico, Africa, South America, Asia, Europe, All LOVE churches. Why can't we?

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJuly 27, 2026 at 12:20 PM

      There are more than enough churches here, few less won't hurt the soul, but would give housing that is more needed.

      Delete
    3. AnonymousJuly 27, 2026 at 1:44 PM

      It's the one of the most populated city in the world, of course. Housing of course but to take away a church that has provided wonders for the city (I'm from NYC born and raised) and for people, that's just a ludicrous comment to say. Churches provide for homeless , I'm sure the majority of these new housings don't do that. Be open minded to churches and you see the good they provide. Housing of course is needed but also it's a populated city, what do you expect!? Look at Japan, beautiful and populated and still have well of 6k+ churches and a lower homelessness rate... Maybe we should look into why that is? Maybe churches do help.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJuly 27, 2026 at 7:55 AM

    some could say this little story is Manhattan in a nutshell ish

    ReplyDelete
  3. ExterminatorJuly 27, 2026 at 5:55 PM

    When the church was here, the parking lot was an outdoor flea market on the weekends for years. It was run by a woman named Renata. It was a great scenario. Then an evil company, Excel, bought the space. Since then, Renata runs a small market in the lot of a church on 14th street. It’s a dud comparatively but Renata is one of the best.

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  4. AnonymousJuly 27, 2026 at 7:17 PM

    Not Renata: Bernarda. It was a great flea, I still miss it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. none_to_remainJuly 27, 2026 at 8:21 PM

    I think it was very silly to build such a large retail space here - I wonder if the Barnes and Noble will get enough business to work out

    ReplyDelete

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