A Town Without Borders

The recent announcement of Borders bankruptcy filing and the decision to close the Fort Lee location has left locals feeling like they’re losing a good friend. And rightly so. It was with great anticipation that the residents of Fort Lee watched as the once wooded area where Borders now stands was built into a shopping plaza. When Borders opened its doors in Fort Lee in the spring of 2003 it was one of the largest national chains of book stores. Borders was integral in Fort Lee’s first step toward revitalizing its increasingly vacant downtown. The expectation was that Borders would act as the magnet that would attract other chain stores to the area. With the development of the Helmsley Property, it was expected that Borders would be the beginning of a commercial renaissance on Main Street.

That was then. This is now. Different times, different economy. Despite Wall Street’s optimism, Main Street is suffering. Not the amorphous Main Street that pundits throw around to prove some political point on cable talk shows, our Main Street. And let us not forget that Borders was a big local employer. From the time they opened their doors they drew their staff from the residents of Fort Lee. From college students, to stay-at-home moms returning to the work force, to seniors—many residents relied on Borders for a paycheck.

Borders served to fill a need in the community of Fort Lee and from the very beginning it was committed to community outreach.

Director of the Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, and Executive Director of the Fort Lee Film Commission Tom Meyer said, “Borders offered the community unique space. Because Fort Lee has no movie theater, Borders made their space available for us to show films to the community. Borders also worked with my office in bringing in local talent for book discussion and signings, such as Frank Vincent (best known for his role on the Sopranos) and Auggie Kleinzahler, an internationally recognized poet who grew up in Fort Lee and was named Fort Lee’s first Poet Laureate.”

Meyers’ went on to explain that Borders, knowing Fort Lee’s history as a pioneer of early films, sought to stock their DVD section with many silent movies filmed in Fort Lee, as well as including many classic old movies in their large selection of films.      

Asked to speak about the closing of the Fort Lee location, the store manager informed Patch that they, along with all of the staff, were under orders from Corporate Headquarters not to speak to any member of the media. They were also directed by Corporate Headquarters not to allow any press on the premises to speak with customers or take pictures.

Mary Davis, the person handling all communication regarding media requests at Borders Corporate Headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, confirmed this.

“We have instructed all managers to direct all media requests to Corporate Headquarters,” Davis said. “This is, and always has been, company policy.”

Asked if any of the staff were being offered an opportunity to relocate to another Borders location or if they were being summarily discharged, Davis said, “We are in the process of finalizing all of our options. We’re looking at our options regarding the placement of staff at other Borders, but I have no further comment on that or any other matter.”

Davis said that the Fort Lee location is scheduled to close no later than April 30.

One staff employee agreed to talk to Patch on the condition of anonymity. A resident of Fort Lee, the employee they had not been offered an opportunity to relocate to another Borders, but added, “Even if I was offered, I would decline because the benefit of working here is that I live right in town.”

Another employee, who also agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, said they could see that the Fort Lee location was suffering for some time.

“People would take books off the shelf, take them to the café, read them and then return them to the shelf,” the employee said. “People were coming in here to read books, just not to buy them.”

While scouring one of the sales carts that line the second floor, the manager was overheard telling another employee that staff members were quitting daily, and they didn’t know how they were going to handle staffing for what they were expecting to be a very busy weekend.

Customers are saddened to see Borders closing as well.

Stacy D’Arc said, “It’s a shame the only time you see long lines in bookstores is at their bankruptcy sales. That having been said, a 20 percent discount off full price doesn't strike me as working hard to liquidate. [I] can do better at Amazon any day which is the problem in the first place."

Sultana Kazanas added, “Successful businesses evolve to customer needs. I chose to shop at Borders because it was convenient to shop locally instead of having to go on the highway. They just took away my option, which confirms to me why they will not succeed in the future.”

Ann Morello said, "I will miss them for last minute gifts, especially on Sundays or for books that teens need in a hurry for school."

Another customer, who asked not to be identified offered, “You can’t put a mall model on a business you open on Main Street and wonder why you’re not successful. Maybe if these people considered using the Main Street model they would have found better success.”

Currently Borders is offering 20 t0 40 percent off their entire inventory of merchandise. As of Wednesday, all merchandise was 20 percent off except for 30 percent off all romance paperbacks and 40 percent off all magazines. Expect to see greater discounts as the store nears its April 30 closing date.