Lisa Polansky To Close By End of the Year

I'm sure many of you are looking at that headline and thinking, "What the hell is a Lisa Polansky?" You know that cluttered looking women's/kids clothing/shoe store on Seventh Ave. between Carroll and President that seems to have no name because there's no signage? That's Lisa Polansky, a Park Slope instiution -- for 40 years, apparently -- and now it's closing.

I saw this sign on my way home last night, and gasped. It took me years to actually go inside, because it looked so cramped in there, but once I did it was the only place I went to get shoes for my daughter. Lisa and her staff were always really kind and helpful, and had a steady supply of Chuck Taylors, Bogs and Bear Paws (...and clogs, and flip flops, and faux Birkenstocks, and so on, and so on). 

According to Lisa herself, she is not shutting down because the landlords have jacked up her rent, but because after 40 years she's ready to move on and do other things with her life. She'll be getting winter merchandise in soon, and will be open through the end of the year. I, for one, will be sorry to see her go.