Union Square ‘Babies R Us’ Starts Closure Sale

UNION SQUARE, NY — A federal bankruptcy judge approved a going-out-of-business plan for Toys R Us, and liquidation sales are beginning Wednesday at more than 150 stores, including the Union Square location of Babies R Us.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips in Richmond, Virginia, approved the plan on Tuesday. Liquidation sales will run through April 15 under the plan.

Babies R Us, located at 24-30 Union Square East, is the only Manhattan location of the chain that will be closing. A Toys R Us in Queens, located at 66-26 Metropolitan Ave., will also be closing, according to the company's website. Both stores will be offering deals and discounts before closing.

Toys R Us locations in Midtown, at 901 Sixth Ave. and 1466 Broadway, will remain open. Additional locations of Toys R Us of the franchise in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx will also stay open, according to the company's website.

Last month, Toys R Us, based in Wayne, New Jersey, filed a motion to close up to 182 of its 880 stores in America — about 20 percent. The retailer has since removed at least a dozen stores from the list.

David Brandon, chairman and CEO of the toy retailer, previously said the brand was reinventing itself and that required some "tough decisions about our priorities and focus."

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Brandon said in a letter posted on the company's website.

Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year amid declining sales and climbing debt.

Stores in the United States will be combined into Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.

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