Volume 17 • Issue 10 / July 30 – August 05, 2004
Downtown Local
Borders bestseller
The Borders on 100 Broadway near Wall St. – the closest of the large chain bookstores to the World Trade Center site – has sold more copies of the 9/11 Commission Report than any other Borders in the country, although it is not one of the chain’s flagship stores.
The Downtown store has sold out of the report twice since it was released last Thursday. Daryl Mattson, Borders’ Manhattan marketing manage, said that the Wall St. store first sold out of the reports the day after they were released, although he would not say how many copies were sold.
Mattson did say, however, that the Wall St. Borders has sold more copies of the report than any other Borders in the country. “The third best selling location was Park Ave. and it’s also done really well in D.C., for obvious reasons.”
The book is available online for free but is sold in print as a 518 page paperback from W.W. Norton for $10, the store had ordered or how many the chain had ordered nation wide – “that information is proprietary.” Mattson said that the report’s sales resemble the first week sales of non-fiction bestsellers like Bill Clinton’s “My Life,” which has occupied the top sport on the New York Times Bestseller list all four weeks since its debut “It hasn’t done quite as well as the Clinton, but it’s up there with the Franken book and ‘Against All Enemies.’ It will be one of the top bestselling non-fiction books of the year,” Mattson predicted.
Pop concert
On Friday, August 6, at 6:30 p.m., the TriBattery Pops will hold a free outdoor concert at the gazebo in Washington Market Park.
The group, founded in February by Battery Park City resident Tom Goodkind, specializes in marching band music. Its July 4 concert in the park was a big success, with children’s marches and other wholesome fun.
“It’s very Midwestern,” Goodkind said.
The 20-member band has just released a brand new CD, called “Outstanding in our Field,” which can be purchased online at www.tribatterypops.com.
A portion of the proceeds goes to the Church St. School of Music and Art.
Postal changes
The Bowling Green post office will close on Friday, August 6 and will reopen inside the newly refurbished Church St. post office on August 9.
The post office’s lease at 25 Broadway is expiring, and it didn’t make financial sense to renew it, said Gary Ferrari, a post office spokesperson. The Bowling Green station will reopen inside the Church St. station to allow customers with Bowling Green post office boxes to keep their addresses and their 10004 zip codes.
A spokesperson for the Downtown Alliance, which runs a business improvement district, downplayed any hassles that the closing might cause to area residents and businesses.
“It is our understanding from the post office that there will be no inconvenience, but we’ll be monitoring the situation closely,” said Bryan Evans, the spokesperson.
But some customers were not convinced.
“The problem is, for all the people who live and work in the Bowling Green area, it’s a 10 block trip” to Church St., said Chuck DeLaney, a Pearl St. resident who has had a post office box at Bowling Green since 1975.
The building at 90 Church St. was contaminated with asbestos, mold and other contaminants as a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers, and some government workers have expressed a reluctance to return. The building has undergone major cleaning and renovations since 9/11, said Ferrari said, with walls and furniture replaced.
The Church St. post office is set to open on August 2, Ferrari said.
About the concerns of lingering contaminants, Ferrari said, “That issue has been addressed.”
Police fest
The First Precinct will host this year’s Night Out Against Crime family event 5:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Tues. Aug. 3 in Duane Park at Duane and Hudson Sts. The free event will have many children’s activities.
