Apr 3, 2009

Good Times Roll On Inside Grand CentralBy Susan DominusNYTimes.com

Grand Central Terminal is a curious kind of threshold — rooted in Midtown Manhattan, but belonging as much to the suburbs as it does to the city.

When the hordes from the north spill into the terminal, the seal of transportation is still unbroken by city air. For the commuters who rush from there to the office and back, Grand Central offers some consolation, a taste of the city that’s just out of reach.

Grocery shopping in the Village may be but a memory, but the same Morbier from Murray’s Cheese can be scooped up en route to the 6:23 to Hastings-on-Hudson at the lavish gourmet market inside the terminal. The atmosphere in the terminal’s Graybar Passage may be a far cry from Waverly Place, but presumably the coffee from Joe the Art of Coffee is pretty much the same.

If Grand Central feels like a microcosm of New York, a casual passer-through might be a little troubled by recent changes. Whatever happened to that little music store that had been there for so many years? What about that terrific toy store along Lexington Passage, the Children’s General Store? Has the economy gotten so bad that $4 finger puppets aren’t selling? And how is a working journalist supposed to feel when she emerges from Track 39 for a fresh day on the job only to confront, within a few steps, the empty, hulking carapace of Eastern News?

For those who see economic indicators in every empty storefront, take heart — the main reason for the upheaval at Grand Central is that many of the stores signed 10-year leases soon after the terminal’s 1998 renovation. As those leases expire, there is a bidding process, and the Grand Central Terminal Development agency has some say in deciding what kind of business is well-suited to the space.

The music store InMotion Entertainment, for example, was essentially encouraged to move on. “Ten years ago, people were buying CDs,” Nancy Marshall, the director of the development agency, said apologetically. At the newsstand, sales were flat, which is practically the new up, but when the lease came due, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority decided to install a cafe there (bidding starts in May).

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