Barnes & Noble Coming To Jamaica Estates

Jamaica Estates will soon be the latest neighborhood in Queens to get its own Barnes & Noble bookstore.
A partly empty building on the corner of Utopia Parkway and Union Turnpike, across from St. Johns University is in the process of being revamped into a commercial complex that will house a Barnes & Noble, and possibly a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant, a Staples and an Old Navy. Most of the large building has been empty for at least two years, since a Pergament hardware store in the rear section closed.
"We are grateful to have the development," said Diane Cohen, district manager of local Community Board 8. "It will probably be very nice when its completed."
Wendy Marsh, president of the Union Turnpike Merchants Association, agreed. "As merchants were very happy," she said. "We dont know much about it, but we know new stores are coming in and that will bring more business to the area."
She added that the community had long been hoping for a bookstore.
Community worries over the traffic congestion the complex could cause on the already crowded turnpike were somewhat allayed by the fact that the architects plans include 154 parking spaces beneath the building and on the roof.
Cohen also said that the community board was hoping to get so-called muni-meters, or parking meters in which two meters are placed on one stand, because they allow more cars to park on each block.
Jodie Fisher, a spokesman for St. Johns, said that the university welcomes the new development. "Twenty-one hundred of our students live on campus," he explained. "They use Union Turnpike stores and eat in Union Turnpike restaurants, so were very interested in the revitalization of that area."
Carolyn Brown, a Barnes & Noble spokeswoman, said that the 26,500-sq.-ft. bookstore would also include a coffee bar.
Community leaders in downtown Flushing have also been trying to get a large bookstore such as a Barnes & Noble. However, their efforts have yet to be rewarded, despite the fact that the Flushing Library has the highest circulation of any branch library in Queens. Members of the Barnes & Noble real estate division could not be reached for comment before press time Tuesday night. A month ago, the bookstore company told The Queens Courier they were scouting for a location in that neighborhood, but had not yet found one that suited their needs.