After years of massive expansion, real estate brokers are bracing themselves for a reversal of bank oversaturation. There are as many retail bank branches in Manhattan as there are Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts combined. Now Washington Mutual has postponed opening new branches (understandably), and other banks are consolidating their branches. One broker predicts that "we might have empty corners without a lot of takers out there chasing the space." But Mitchell Moss, NYU professor of......

It seems like just yesterday that Marty Markowitz was standing there in his Hawaiian shirt, announcing the borough's first Trader Joe's. Now, the Brooklyn Paper reports it will be opening in the landmark Independence Bank building as soon as next week! September 26th, to be exact. "The supermarket will open at 9 am and the festivities will feature giveaways, live music," and of course, more Markowitz. But be warned winos, this location at the corner......

Gossip Girl is officially back, with their new season premiering last night. There were British lords, Hamptons parties, people who aren't rich getting looked down upon by people who are rich (as well as other cookie cutter plot devices), and a number of puns involving Chuck Bass's name. Now, to insure an absolute takeover, the show has stepped off the small screen and invaded the windows of Henri Bendel. Racked reports on the 5th Avenue......

A judge approved for Steve & Barry's, the cheap-n-chic retail chain which faced bankruptcy earlier this summer, to be acquired by two investments firms for $163 million. Newsday reports the new group, BHY S&B Holdings LLC, made up of Bay Harbor Management and York Capital (with Steve Shore and Barry Prevor as investors), will "Steve & Barry's merchandise inventories, store leases and all of Steve & Barry's intellectual property rights, including its celebrity and brand......

Did you hear that UK retailer Top Shop is coming to town this fall? Before they cross the pond, however, Williamsburg is Dead points out that they have some tips on how to dress for the McCarren Park Pool Parties (where they've temporarily set up shop). Apparently nothing says a sweltering New York summer in a concrete pool like a nice warm woollen beanie! The store arrives in town, by the way, about a......

After finding themselves in bankruptcy last month, Steve & Barry's, the clothing retailer boasting inexpensive designs from Sarah Jessica Parker and Stephon Marbury, announced that an investment company has offered them $163 million. Newsday reports that a subsidiary of Bay Harbor Management, which specializes in "purchasing and revitalizing troubled companies," has made the offer, in exchange for some assets and would want the company to continue to operate. The offer needs to be accepted by......

Photograph by djmac on Flickr As reader djmac captured an iPhone 3G-related fight outside a Lexington Avenue AT&T store, the customers who managed to snag the new device were bereft when problems prevented their phones from activating both in the physical stores and on the iTunes store. (Gizmodo has tips for fixing some problems.) Many AT&T stores are reporting they don't have anymore iPhone 3Gs; some remain at the Apple stores.......

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal and NY Times reported that discount retailer Steve & Barry's was facing bankruptcy. The chain had boasted how it took undesirable real estate and survived on very small margins to offer good quality, trendy clothing at low prices. Sarah Jessica Parker's lawyer said his client, who created a line of clothing for the company, was "surprised and disappointed" given how strong S&B's accounting statements were, but the WSJ noted this:......

Bridal chain David's Bridal is opening its first Manhattan store on Sixth Avenue between West 24th and 25th Streets. Though it's just a few blocks north of Kleinfeld's, Crain's reports that the Pennsylvania-based company feel the area needs a "midtier" bridal resource to complement the upscale offerings. There is a David's Bridal store in Queens, as well as ones in Westchester and NJ. Rebecca Mead wrote about the store for the New Yorker and the......

Dina Matos McGreevey is having her days in court this week, as the divorce proceedings between her and former NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey drag on ever-longer. Having settled the child custody portion of the divorce, Dina and Jim are now squabbling about the important stuff: money. Matos McGreevey noted that once as the wife of a governor, she had $51,000/month lifestyle (the "cooks, gardeners, personal secretaries, drivers, security and lodging") . But then McGreevey robbed......

The Whitney, being so modern, has joined forces with The Gap, the founders of which talked about opening their own museum just last summer. The retailers aren't quite trying to set up shop in the new downtown outlet, but they are getting their T's imprinted with famous artist designs thanks to the museum (and the nonprofit Art Production Fund). The Artist Editions T-Shirts feature 13 contemporary artists who were previous Whitney Biennial participants: Chuck Close,......

Rendering of retail space via Prudential Douglas Elliman. Just after Apple turned sour on New York (and vice versa) over the city's green apple logo, Microsoft is primed to plug into the retail racket with their very own outlet. The Brooklyn Paper reports that the nation's first Microsoft store might be in Brooklyn; the company is eyeing the ground floor of the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank. If they seal the deal, they'll be taking......

Photo by Robert Kreizel After the John Varvatos boutique officially opened its doors last weekend in the old CBGB space, activist Rebecca Moore held court on the sidewalk. This past Tuesday she sat outside the retail shop in protest with a sign that read: "One small loss of a music space, one large step for pants," and was joined by a few other supporters. Moore says her statement isn't about just one music space......

Reader Kiran sent us these photos the free tote the new Brooklyn Urban Outfitters was handing out at its store opening today, "I don't even know what to make of it, but I do want to see what else they come up with." So do we: While not as confounding as its print ad, it's curious that they used the Yankees NY logo, as the Bombers are in the Bronx. (Yes, it's clever to......

Yohji Yamamoto's recently opened Y-3 store at 317 West 13th Street in the West Village is upsetting some locals. One tipster writes in:The idiots at the new Y-3 store on 13th street leave the front door (a garage door) open all day long. It is 30 degrees outside, yet that strip of the sidewalk is toasty warm.While a toasty warm sidewalk may sound cozy, it shows the wasteful energy practices of the store. Council member......

Photo: Food of the Future The East Williamsburg Moore Street Retail Market is one of four remaining city-run public markets built during the tail end of the Depression; opened by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in 1941, the Brooklyn market was created to clear the streets of unhygienic peddlers and monitor the scales for customers. Today the market is occupied by 13 vendors selling mostly tropical produce, roots and other ethnic foods to the local......

Gucci has been touting its love (or ♥) of New York with a new "Gucci ♥ NY" line of luxury products and 46,000 flagship store on Fifth Avenue, but its legal department never cleared the usage of the trademarked "I ♥ NY" logo. According to the Post, the Empire State Development agency was never contacted for permission. Accompanying another Post article about the "I ♥ NY" logo being used for cigarette and ashtrays, it turns......

Over the weekend, Reverend Billy and his Stop Shopping Choir paid a visit to a closing establishment on 10th Street across from Saint Mark's Church. After 45 years Angelo Fontana's shoe repair shop is being priced out of the East Village, and the good Reverend was there to make some noise. The Villager recently wrote about the East Village sole saver, who has been at the same intersection for 45 years, and in the same......

As chains take over every nook and cranny of this city, some people in the East Village are forming a united front against them. The Villager reports on the corporate takeover, the resistance and the new spin on this story as old as time. Multiple Starbucks in Astor Place act as a welcome sign to the East Village, but the East Village Community Coalition would like to say good riddance to them, and more than......

Earlier this week, the NY Times had an article about how Apple's retail stores were uncommonly successful. The Apple Stores contribute to 20% of revenue, unlike other big brands whose brick-and-mortar offerings tend to be more about brand presence than actual ringing of cash registers (example: the Samsung Experience store at the Time Warner Center doesn't actually sell Samsung products). Experts credit Apple with creating stores that seem like a community gathering places, where......

On a recent weekend, we saw Jacques Torres loading boxes of delectable treats from a van into his new store Jacques Torres Chocolate store at 285 Amsterdam Avenue, near 73rd Street, leaving us impressed at his commitment as a small business owner. Today, the chocolatier and the store are mentioned in a NY Times article that examines the emergence of Amsterdam Avenue as an option for retailers, who have traditionally been attracted to Broadway and......

Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn have announced a plan to issue 1,500 new permits to vendors who commit to selling fresh fruits and vegetables from carts in low-income neighborhoods. The “Green Cart” plan, expected to be approved by the City Council, comes on the heels of a Health Department study comparing Harlem to the Upper East Side; it determined that supermarkets in Harlem are 30% less common than the UES, and......

Could Apple be planting a seed on a location near Lincoln Center? The Meatpacking district Apple store still has that new-store smell as Apple fever extends north. According to the Post, Apple is looking to take over space at the northwest corner of Broadway and West 67th, where there's currently a two-story Victoria's Secret store. Apple is supposedly going to put up a new building, but it's not clear how much of the structure......

Last week we all learned the new Apple store would be opening in the Meatpacking District just in time for a holiday spending spree. Since then, eager Mac fans have been stalking the place at night -- trying to get a glimpse into the shiny new tech haven. Today we went inside for a sneak peak at what has to be the nicest of the three Manhattan stores so far. Upon entering you'll be greeted......

Last Friday some shopped til they dropped, while others stopped shopping alltogether. Both groups saved money, and incase you were one of the ones who did so by abstaining from the almighty sale, check out what you "missed": While the lines were long, it's being reported that sales were down. Seems a lot of people didn't want to leave home and did their shopping online. Video via Glenn Gabel.......

There are plenty of Starbucks in Manhattan (over 170), but if you head over to Brooklyn -- you'll see the streets are mostly void of discarded Venti cups and hardly anyone has heard Josh Groban's new Christmas album. But things are about to change, chain-haters beware.A recent Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable meeting revealed that retail giants such as Starbucks, Duane Reade pharmacies and Chase Bank are planning to double and in some cases triple their......

Earlier this year the law started cracking down on illegal bootleggers of all kinds, so those looking for more inexpensive gifts like Prada bags or not-yet-released DVDs on the city sidewalks may be barking up the wrong Christmas tree. The NY Post reports that cops are paying extra-special attention to the counterfeiters this year, leading to a big decline in sales for the sidewalk entrepreneurs and aiming the consumers to (gasp!) legit storefronts.That's great news......

Activists trying to turn Black Friday into Buy Nothing Day have their work cut out for them when it comes to consumers like Tom Shea, who waited in line outside a midtown Manhattan Best Buy for 35 hours so he could be the first one inside when the store opened at 4am today. “"If they were selling it, we were buying it," Shea proudly told the Post. His attitude was far from unique; shopoholics like......

MUJI is on the verge of opening its first store in the United States. The Japanese retailer, whose original name meant "No Brand Quality Goods", is opening up a 2,000 square foot location on Broadway. Since we visited last week, the store has taken the protective covering off and stocked its shelves. Gothamist stopped by this morning for a preview. We can already say that one of the biggest issues is going to be......

We've been excited about the first U.S. store from MUJI since March. This Friday at noon, the Japanese retailer (whose full name Mujirushi Ryōhin, translates to "No Brand Quality Goods") will open its SoHo location at 455 Broadway. We got to tour the store last week for a quick peek as workers were getting it ready. The store is 2,000 square feet, with products ranging from its popular stationery line to cooking utensils and......