Bookstore closing 'huge loss' for patrons

The closure of the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Huntington Station Saturday left a hole in the community, many patrons said.

"It's a huge loss," said Russ Bank, a 33-year-old insurance broker from Plainview who came to the store with his 4-year-old son, Ethan.

"It's a great place to spend the day with the kids," he said. "I guess you can go to the library."

The store is closing after 15 years at the Huntington Shopping Center after losing its lease. Toys R Us is also closing in the strip.

For its final day, the book store had marked down some titles by 50 percent, though most titles appeared to be at the regular price. An employee said that some books would go back to the publishers and others would end up in other stores. At midday, plenty of bookshelves were near full in the busy store, though some had been picked clean.

It was unclear what would happen to the jobs at the store. The manager referred questions to corporate headquarters, where calls and emails were not returned.

One employee said she planned to spend the next two weeks on her couch eating bonbons.

Many described the store as a nexus of community activity where people played chess, knitted around tables in the cafe and tutors taught children.

"It was like a meeting place," said Nick Pascale, 68, a retired supermarket clerk from Huntington Station. "The economy's still bad, [but] this place was always busy."

Pascale, who said he's spent more than a $1,000 at the store over the years, was not looking forward to commuting to other Barnes & Noble stores.

"I don't drive, so to go to [East] Northport I'd have to take a bus," he said.

The store has also been a place to get the message out about animal rescue nonprofits for which Roseanna Ponturo, 61, volunteers. This season, she gift wrapped people's books and gave them information about Cold Spring Harbor-based Ally Equine Coalition and Rescue Corp., which tries to save horses headed for slaughter. The retired schoolteacher from Huntington would accept donations for the organization while wrapping presents.

"I've lost a place to do something that I love and enjoy," Ponturo said. "And the organization has lost a place to get itself known to the community."