Old-school NYC toy store will close after 44 years, neighbors crushed as ‘magic disappears'

New York Post

10-07-2025

This Toy Story's coming to an end.
An old-school Upper West Side toy store is closing its doors after 44 years — with its owners blaming online shopping and tariff chaos for delivering a fatal double whammy.
West Side Kids, on West 84th and Amsterdam Avenue, announced this week it would cease operations at the end of July — with long-time shoppers complaining 'the magic' is disappearing as buyers turn to Amazon instead of in-person shopping.
5 West Side Kids is located on West 84th street and Amsterdam Avenue.
Matthew McDermott
'We have seen families raise their children,' said owner Jennifer Bergman, 58, whose mother opened the shop.
'Those children now have children. We're now helping them raise their children,' Bergman told The Post. 'You walk into my store, I'm going to tell you exactly what I recommend for that child that likes that specific thing. I'm going to remember that child's name. That child's gonna come in when they feel unsafe on the street and we're gonna make sure they're OK.'
Bergman said she was forced to make the tough decision when she discovered business in June was down 43% from the previous year — which was down 20% from 2023.
The family-run shop — which celebrated its 44th anniversary last September — had been outrunning closure for the last decade, just outpacing the pandemic and inflation.
The toy store — which sells everything from Legos to clothes and books — had been in constant competition with online retailers but was able to stay above water thanks to the loyalty of its neighborhood clientele.
5 Jennifer Bergman, 58, is the owner of the toy store West Side Kids, a local fixture in the upper westside of Manhattan, which is closing after 44 years of serving fun to city kids.
Matthew McDermott
That neighborhood loyalty ultimately fizzled in recent years when customers could no longer turn up their noses at Amazon's marked-down prices.
'I can't compete with those prices, I don't want to compete with those prices. I run a really ethical place: I treat my staff well, I pay them well, I pay health insurance, I pay vacations,' Bergman said.
The high price of tariffs was the last straw, she continued. The small profit Bergman was taking home was eliminated, she said.
Bergman's mother and her best friend opened the shop as a children's consignment clothing store in 1981, which slowly started selling other goodies for kids.
5 Neighborhood locals Liv, 7, Ella, 4, Vera, 17 months and Sara (mom) visit West Side Kids.
Matthew McDermott
By the 1990s, there were 10 toy stores in the Upper West Side, but all slowly shuttered their doors over the years.
West Side Kids held on until this week's announcement — which sparked regular customers to visit the store to relish in their fond memories one last time.
'It makes me sad, it's all part of an era of New York City that's no longer that same,' said Sue Woodman, a New York Public Library employee who stopped in the store Wednesday to purchase a puzzle for her grandkids.
5 Bergman explained how the rise of Amazon and online shopping contributed to the store's eventual closure.
Matthew McDermott
'I've noticed over the last 15 years, the Upper West Side has changed a lot — Gentrified out of existence for many people,' Woodman said. 'Full of restaurants and nightlife that seems so disconnected from the neighborhood I brought my kids up in.'
Silvia Parker, who owns a nearby gift shop, lamented the 'interesting stores' that are no more.
'You can see if you walk up and down Broadway, basically all around the neighborhood, there's empty storefronts,' Parker, 65, said. 'I just remember the way, as I'm sure everyone's saying, the way the neighborhood used to be.
5 There were previously 10 toy stores in the Upper West Side in the 1990s.
Matthew McDermott
'As a store owner myself, it's very very difficult,' Parker added. 'Between rents, and what's going on with the tariffs, it's impossible to plan a business properly. We don't know what's coming for the fall and the holidays.
Neighborhood mom Sarah, who didn't want to share her last name, feared the closure means she will lose some of her fondest memories with her daughters, aged 7, 4 and 1: bringing them to West Side Kids to pick out their Christmas and birthday gifts.
'It's not the same online. The magic disappears,' Sarah said. 'Coming here takes me back to my own childhood, being able to actually go to the stores and put things on my wish list and hope my parents make those dreams come true.'