Kmart To Close 34th Street Store After 2-Decade Run

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The Herald Square Kmart will shut down after more than two decades in business, according to a notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor.

The 1 Penn Plaza department store will close on May 4 and all 160 employees who work at the store will be laid off, according to the labor filing. After the 34th street store closes, Kmart will operate only four locations in New York City.

Kmart stores have been closing around the country in recent years. In November, holding company Transformco announced that it would close 96 Kmart and Sears stores across the United States due to a "difficult retail environment and other challenges." The 34th Street Kmart was not included in a list of planned closures revealed in the announcement.

A spokesperson for Transformco declined to comment when asked about the closure.

Sears and Kmart used to operate thousands of stores across the country, but the latest culling will leave just 182 in business, according to the Transformco statement.

Kmart's remaining New York City stores are located in NoHo, Flatbush, Brooklyn and the Soundview and Baychester neighborhoods in the Bronx.