Closings: Fortunoff store closes, LeNell’s to close February 21

The economic crisis is shutting down Manhattan schools, stores and religious institutions. Today, Fortunoff officials announced that its store at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue has closed, a few days after its lease expired. The store only opened in late 2007. Sources told Bloomberg News that the company is in talks to liquidate most of its merchandise. At the same time, Louis D. Brandeis High School at 145 West 84th Street announced that it will not accept new students this fall and will graduate its last class in 2012. The school has reportedly struggled to improve its test scores, has a graduation rate of 33 percent and has faced safety concerns. The Convent of Mercy at 273 Willoughby Avenue in Fort Greene will close in the middle of the month because engineers said it would cost more than $20 million to fix the building’s structural and safety problems. And LeNell’s liquor store in Red Hook is scheduled to close on February 21. TRD