By Gus Saltonstall
West Side Kids, the longtime toy store on the Upper West Side, will close permanently in the near future, the shop’s owner announced late Monday night.
The store, which has operated on West 84th Street for 44 years, will be open from Tuesday through Saturday through the end of July, and then will operate on a day-to-day basis until a final day is selected, according to Jennifer Bergman, the second-generation owner of West Side Kids.
“My mother, Alice Bergman, opened West Side Kids on September 15th, 1981. Forty-four years later, we are closing our doors for good,” Bergman wrote in an update to friends and neighbors. “We attempted to find a buyer for the store but the retail landscape remains so uncertain because of tariffs and online competition that weren’t able to find someone suitable.”
“Our landlord has always been very supportive and fair,” she added. “We are not closing because of them. We are closing because we don’t have enough business to pay the bills. Although many of you have been incredibly loyal, the truth is most people really do prefer to shop online.”
In recent years, West Side Kids moved from 498 Amsterdam Avenue just around the corner to 201 West 84th Street.
Bergman added that there is not much inventory left, so customers should stop by as soon as they can, since they will not be restocking. Additionally, all Mrs. McCarthy Mercantile items at the store will be 50 percent off and holiday items will also be on sale starting next week.
Any loyalty points, gift cards and store credits are all still valid, but when the store closes they are gone for good.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
The City has done everything to help restaurants, chiefly the giveaway of street space/street shed plus allowing the sale of drinks “to go”.
The City is helping and enabling Amazon/ecommerce in establishing ecommerce delivery hubs and other policies to help ecommerce.
In contrast, the City has done Zero to help small retail and shops which have struggled due to multiple issues – rent, ecommerce, shoplifting, street vendors.
Really really sad to hear this.
West Side Kids has been a neighborhood icon.
Now joining the list of many other small shops in Manhattan that have been forced out.
the issue is online shopping. if no one shops in person there is nothing that can be done to save these stores.
Yes, go shopping there if you want to save them, but they’ve had their run and it was a good long run, 44 years (a two generation store). You don’t hear about too many stores like that today!
Most of the kids they sold to back in the 80s when they first open have now brought their kids there.
They must have a lot of inventory to get rid of.
Can you imagine the vintage inventory?
Yes in the case of WSK, the owner mentions that on-line shopping is the chief reason.
But there are many other small Manhattan shops that struggled and forced to close for the multiple reasons I listed.
And Paul’s comment further explains – the City proactively benefits ecommerce companies which undercut local stores.
Nor has the City sought to add an ecommerce tax as Paul suggests.
Also worth noting that ecommerce delivery has added to trash (plastic, boxes etc) and the number of vehicles on the street….
The point is that the City is bending over backwards to accommodate the on line services, giving curb space, overlooking the de facto delivery stations they set up on random streets, etc, AS THEY UNDERCUT the taxpaying stores.
Deliveries should be taxed, on a per drop off basis.
We could try these things. Adding to the cost of living is very difficult these days and folks order much of their food and necessities online. Would love to encourage more people to get out of their apartments.
IMHO, all store closings are due to online shopping. Pretty soon there will be no stores left.
My neighbors get multiple e-commerce deliveries almost every day.
And frequent food delivery.
They won’t even walk a few blocks to buy Cheerios.
God that’s depressing. Why not just live in the suburbs?
Looking at the grocers near me, cheerios purchased from Amazon are literally half the price. If I subscribe and save it is a bit cheaper than half. I’m at the point that everything that isn’t perishable is purchased online.
Which is their right….
It is, of course, their right, but then they can hardly complain if they will be bereft of any stores to buy things in that they may still want to buy in person, be in milk or milk of magnesia. Each of us can only do what we each can do, though collectively, if we make more effort to buy locally and from brick and mortar stores, we’ll be more likely to still have some stores around if we want to have them there.
Agreed, @AnnieNYC.
Nobody even remotely suggested that it wasn’t “their right.” That has nothing to do with the fact that people don’t shop in person as much as they used to and that’s the reason for the lack of walk-in business.
Just pointing it out. I try to shop the mom & pop stores as well. That said, sometimes the prices are just prohibitive.
I bought toys for both my kids and my grandkids here. I actually lamented to a friend as we walked by recently, that I was sad that I no longer had any kids in the store’s age range as my grandkids are now both teenagers. Wishing the owners and their family all the best.
Agreed. When my kids were in elementary school at PS9 and on the birthday party circuit, we went to WSK constantly. Inevitably my kids would get lots of gifts from WSK that we didn’t want (no fault of WSK) and would spend a long time working through the credits. But I always enjoyed shopping there and I tried to give them my business.
The new location was one step in the grave. It didn’t have the visibility of the old location, made worse by the massive construction site next door.
I feel like this is a scene from You’ve Got Mail.
Tariffs. The final blow to American small businesses.
I like the tactile experience of shopping in person.
This is such a huge loss for the neighborhood. My husband and I have nine nieces and nephews and this has been our go-to for the past 15 years. The convenience of being able to walk in there with a long Christmas list and knock off a few kiddos was unparalleled. We will miss you greatly.
We’re turning into a dystopian society. Soon there will be no reason to ever leave the house – All forms of communication, education , commerce and entertainment will be done via personal technology . Community dies with this .. very sad times
I use the time saved by the convenience of online shopping to spend more time with my family. You lose some superficial relationship with the cashier at a store and gain time with the people you actually care about.
Or. You spend time with your family shopping. And learning about the cashier’s life part of wh
I shop online and in person but online feels eerily impersonal.
The printing press, radio and television were also predicted to end civilization as we know it. All baloney, just like this jeremiad. Times change. People like their screens. There has never been a better time to be alive.
This is the scary thing that I feel that we don’t talk about enough. I am not anti-technology per se, but where are these technology-driven trend lines taking us? Is it to a world that we want to live in?
Kind of ok with this. They’ve done their best to indoctrinate kids from an early age into the left wing, promoting AOC, the bizarre liberal alphabet (A is for activism yay!) and debunked Ibram Kendi books. Though I’d much rather support local, I couldn’t give a dime to a partisan toy store. Why not just sell toys and not messaging? Wont miss it.
Go woke, go broke. We used to shop for our kids there, and for all their friends’ birthday parties. But we stopped in 2016 after Trump got elected and they became obsessed with promoting a far left agenda instead of being a lovely toy store as they had previously been.
Gold Leaf Stationers on Amsterdam between 89th and 90th is an excellent alternative. Local business, immigrant-run, wide selection of toys and games at reasonable prices, friendly customer service.
I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not the actual UWS Dad?
If UWS Dad thinks you are too liberal, that says something.
Now I know why my daughter votes Democrat – that indoctrination at the toy store
foaming at the mouth because someone won’t bow to Trump.
Dear god man. Get help
TDS much?
Totally agree. I always avoided that store because they were so over the top with their political messaging.
Same with Blue Marble ice cream, which also shut down a little while ago.
There’s a one way ticket to a swamp in Florida calling your name. Have a blast. How heartless can you be?
Stores sell what people will buy. If these items sell in this neighborhood, so be it. If they languish on shelves, stores won’t keep reordering just so they can indoctrinate. If you don’t like specific books or other items don’t buy them. There are lots of things I find distasteful in stores so I just don’t buy them.
Your comment is knnd of crazy. Are you okay?
And how, exactly is West Side Kids trying “to indoctrinate kids from an early age into the left wing…?” Fascinating comment, and sad that anyone agrees with such nonsense.
Ew. What an absolute gross comment.
A long-time neighbor is losing the store to which she has devoted much of her life. And this is an opportunity for politicizing her loss?
This is the UWS the most political place on earth. if you don’t want to get political move to the burbs.
That’s a very sensible response, Eric. Well done.
This store has such beautiful toys, things that you can’t find anywhere else. Whenever I walked in, I bought something whether I planned to or not. Shopping online only works if you know exactly what you want to get, and this store always had surprises.
Really good toy stores left NYC decades ago, well before the internets. The dedicated toy stores that remained in NYC largely relied on gimmicks and glitter, with a few toys and games betwixt.
Want a good toy store, take MetroNorth to Mamaroneck and go to Miller’s Toys.
Mary Arnold on the East side is very good- hope they last!
So I went to Mary Arnold on Friday; it’s not remarkable. Not awful or anything, but really.
Since I’ll be in the neighborhood of Lex and 80th later this week, I’ll give it a look. Its website seems more promising than most.
Did you ever actually go into West Side Kids? Signs point to no.
No, but I’ve been in many toy stores in NYC over the last 30 years. All (except the antique toy dealer next to Ottomanelli) were a disappointment.
The photo of the store window above is NOT promising.
You should try Miller’s Toys in Mamaroneck.
Oh, and when it was still in business Radio Shack was better for RC cars than anywhere in NYC.
Although I haven’t been there in years, my heart is breaking. So many happy hours in there when my boys were young looking at toys and picking one or two to bring home. Looking at all the nice things, getting ideas. Always knowing – if a long day was really going downhill we could pack into a double stroller, walk up there and find something to look at and buy (and most importantly, another adult to talk to).
Unspeakably sad that there was no buyer for such a lovely business and TOY STORE on the family-dense UWS.
Liberty House was a neighborhood business around the corner . I worked at the various locations for many years until they closed the last store at 112th street in 2017. Alice was a lovely customer and one of the once many entrepreneurs whose eclectic shops enriched the area. Best wishes, it’s hard to close .
So sad to hear this. My two kids aged out of the store several years ago, but before that I went there all the time for things for them, as well as birthday party presents. I even had their silhouettes done by a person they had on site one day. They are framed and always remind me of this terrific store, and those wonderful early years.
30 years ago I stopped in here every Tuesday afternoon with my 2 year old to pick out a baby doll from a barrel of toy babies before I hopped off to school at Fordham Law. She had quite a collection. We’ll miss this store that will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
It’s unfortunate that there will be another empty storefront. However, let’s be rational… Ecomm has changed the way people shop for more than 2 decades. You can’t expect a small store to compete in the long-run, especially if they’re not doing something new and exciting to get people to come into the store.
You can’t pick up and try things that are on the internet. There’s a reason HomeDepot has tools on display, and there’s a big reason that photo gear stores like B&H and Adorama still exist in NYC.
It’s not tariffs, it’s online shopping.
Correct. Between the convenience and thrift of online shopping, most brick-and-mortar businesses are obsolete even if they could afford the sky-high rents. (This is not a tariff issue. This was happening long before the discussion of tariffs; knock off the politicizing)
They had a great, long run and are going out with a loyal customer base full of fond memories and good cheer.
This is very unfortunate. The more in person shopping, the less dependent on delivery people are, the better. With that being said, vacant or soon to be vacant storefronts like this make better microhubs than parking spaces. Also gives a person the opportunity to pick up and ship packages in person. Let’s face it, people do prefer to shop online, but people also want refunds and exchanges and need to mail stuff back also. Amazon, UPS and Fedex can afford the overhead that West Side Kids cannot, they can also afford a storefront whereas people who park on the street cannot afford $10,000 or more a month for parking.
Cany uwk sell online? Understand it’s still a loss, but evolve with the times?
Meant wsk – not uwk
When they moved from the corner location my worry began. This hurts 🙁
Growing up in NYC, one of THE toy stores was Rappapprts on 78th and 3rd. It had a signature l, iconic, polka dot wrapping paper and at every birthday party the boxes wrapped in it were piled high. They stocked everything. They were in business for 90 years before closing. Change happens.
Wow! There was a Rappaports on Broadway, west side of street, between 84th and 83rd. Thank you for reminding me. It was WONDERFUL and even had a downstairs.
West Side Kids has been part of my life ever since 1989 when I moved to the UWS and started having kids. We always went there to shop with the kids and for birthdays and holidays. Now that I have grandkids I have been shopping there again for the grandkids. I had a bad feeling when I saw the stock dwindling.
They survived Kaybee Toys being in the neighborhood but cannot survive Amazon and other online toy sellers and how people just don’t want to go to stores anymore for whatever reason. I personally like to look and touch what I am buying because so many times it’s not what it appears in the online picture and descriptions. I always have tried to go to the store first and then if I can’t find it then I will order it online. Online is never my first resort but I know that is not everyone’s default action and we lose something when these stores close.
I will miss you West Side Kids! Thank you for all the years in the UWS.
This makes me incredibly sad. We bought so many things from West Side Kids when our children were young. Harriet even helped us design our kids’ nurseries with beautiful, original bedding and wallpaper.
So sorry to see this place go!! We’ve loved shopping here since we became parents. We always tried to buy from here and a couple other local toy stores and not buy online. For me, it’s so much more fun to go look at stuff in person than scroll through online retailers! And we love knowing we support local businesses.
I will truly miss coming here and can only imagine how hard it is for the owner to lose this place. Thank you for the great service and good memories we had here over the years!! You’ll truly be missed!
On a slightly more positive note, Stationary and Toys on 72 street is another good UWS independently owned store with a lot of toys. Every time I walk by I am happy to see that they have somehow survived. Perhaps this will bring them a little more business and that’s a good thing.
That is THE best toy store, bar none. Modest looking and a bit small in size, they ALWAYS have EVERYTHING that you cannot find anywhere else. The owner and staff have an encyclopedic memory for where to find anything and everything, and will happily accompany you if you can’t find it. They’re wonderful. They have survived through many hard times. May they last forever.
I love that place. I was afraid when I saw the headline that it was the store that was closing. Of course, I’d prefer that both stay in business. But the place on 72nd reminds me of stores I frequented when I was growing up in the 1960s. It just has a feeling.
Sad to read this but this wasn’t “done” to us. We are “why” it’s happened. It also could reflect the owner’s desire to move on without the succession plan that used to be assumed. Children took over family businesses. Often the family lived nearby. Things change.
The in-store shopping experience needs to evolve to meet the needs of today’s consumer. Shopping, especially for discretionary purchases, of which toys typically are, is also an activity. How can a store owner lure a consumer to come into their store, even just to browse, to kill time and spend here instead of the $6 cookie or $15 pop up bagels? Those are the questions we need to ask?
And then I point to many small villages in Europe. Locals have the discipline to buy local because they know it supports their community. They might pay more at times and forfeit choice but they wouldn’t see it any other way. What online vendor are you prepared to give up?
I will miss them too. Bought many gifts there.
I love shopping in person (though I cannot say I never shop online, for I do that, too), and I do like the idea of supporting local businesses and mom and pop shops, whose owners I’ve come to see as part of my neighborhood (often they ARE, in fact, from the neighborhood), and whose well being merges with the benefits and amenities that my neighborhood offers. Making a point to shop in person for what one can, matters to me. Of course, others can choose to do differently, and in the end, it will be our collective habits that may tip the balance one way or the other. I’ve shopped many a time in West Side Kids, and I am sad to see them go. A good run, for sure, but not necessarily an inevitable one. I wish them all the very best!
I am sure when they opened up years ago, there was no need for a security camera above the door.
Just an observation.
Sure, in 1981 I am sure there was no need for a security camera.
It seems like most of the people bemoaning this store’s loss are customers from decades ago who rarely buy there anymore because their kids or grandkids have grown up. There’s no blame here but if you like having a business around just in case you might need it once in a while that won’t sustain them. There are few comments here from people who now shop there regularly.
The truth is that I went there twice recently with the intention to purchase something but I was not impressed with their selection. There are a couple other toy stores that I truly loved and they had really special inventory – unique toys or European toys that you don’t see at Barnes and Noble or immediately on Amazon. Wanted to love West Side Kids, but since their move I haven’t been as frequently due to their selection (or lack thereof)
The problem when you have a store in a death spiral it doesn’t have money to get the inventory so when you go in the store it doesn’t have what you are looking for so you don’t buy. Because no one is buying because there is no inventory the whole situation just death spirals. The whole tariff situation doesn’t help because almost all toys are made in China. I have gone in a couple of times looking for something for the grandkids and have noticed the lack of inventory and got worried this was happening to them.
The whole business situation for small stores is a mess right now. Our neighborhood has been decimated.
Can someone buy the West Side Kids name and open up an online only store with pop up locations at lets say the bazaar or during special events?
We need a toy and gift store in the 80’s, 90’s, or 100;s.
Maybe a bank can open a row of ATMs in the space. Or Fedex or UPS can surely fit a couple of hundred storage lockers, only for automated drop-offs and pickups. No, wait – install a big screen, made to look like a phone, that slowly and endlessly scrolls.
All meant to be sarcastic, but welcome to the 21st century.
The end of an era! When I first moved down to the Neighborhood in 2008 – it saved my life as I was so lonely with my toddler son. That train table was an outing we looked forward to often. We would always leave with a toy train car and a gift for a loved one. RIP
I saw this too late so probably no one will see this BUT – this city and state have done NOTHING to help the small stores. They treat us like we are the enemy and want more and more from us. And now a mayoral candidate that wants a $30/hour minimum wage????? Are you CRAZY? No small store can sustain that. NONE. So be ready for nothing but vacant stores and a few chain stores. That’s what you’ll see soon enough.
Toy. Store goes out of business due to Trump Derangement Syndrome. This brings a smile to my face, Too liberal for liberals.