Filenes Basement...
 

I will be in NY in June staying in the Murray Hill area at 70Park Ave Hotel. I would like to go to Filene's Basement and notice there are three locations in NY City.
Which of the three would be most convenient to my hotel, and which of the three is the best a far as size, selection etc...thanks!

The Union Square location (14th Street) is very convenient to your hotel and has a great selection (all are similar if not identical).

The 4-5-6 subway runs down Lexington Avenue and stops at Union Square.

I know Filenes Basement, except for original one in downtown Boston, years ago became a separate entity from Filenes - but the Filenes brand store has disappeared in New England - do not know fate of Basements but I would make sure they are still there if you plan to go.

The one on 6th ave. & 16 st. is also near Loehmann's and TJ Maxx. ;)

Nicolemp:
I am from the Boston area and can assure you that there is only one real Filene's Basement and that is in downtown Boston.That is a separate entity from the Filene chain and was not part of the Macy's deal. We also had some suburban "Filene's Basement" stores but they were not the same.(Different selection, no automatic markdown,etc). The ones around here have mostly disappeared but the original lives on.

ediemay - That's a bit misleading of a post you made! I can't compare any Filene's Basements to the original in Boston, but can definitely say that the others are still "really" Filene's Basements (at least, that's what the sign over the door says).

There are still Filene's Basement stores in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC according to their website. There are three Manhattan locations listed there, just as Nicolemp listed in her original post.

It's true -- the suburban chain Filene's Basements only vaguely resemble the original mothership store. The suburban store near me, in Braintree, Massachusetts, is literally in the basement of mall and carries mostly junk. The original basement is where you'll find the real quality and bargains. The mall stores that I've seen are more like a downscale Marshall's or TJMaxx.

The Union Square/14th Street location is also near a DSW, Forever 21, Wholefoods, American Eagle, B&N, Diesel (I think that covers the major stores or chains around union sq park) and the Union Square Farmer's Market (M-Tu-W-Sat).

The 6th Avenue and 18th St (not 16th st) is near TJ Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, the Container Store, Sport Authority, Loehmann's (about 2 blocks away) and B&N.

Both are close the all the stores along 5tn Ave. between 14th and 23rd sts.

From your hotel it is a short hop to Union Sq via the trains Gekko mentioned. The union Sq area in general, is a bit more interesting and lively than the 6th Av stores.

I think the Union Sq/14th St Filene's is the nicer of the 2.

This is non-responsive to the OP's question, but I agree with the other Boston-area posters who have said that there is only one Filene's Basement and that's in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston.

My recollection of the history is as follows: about twenty years ago, FB started opening stores in other cities and suburbs under their name (I remember when the one opened on Rte. 4 in Paramus, NJ), but they became financially strapped and the parent company spun them off from the original store. The new stores were bought by an Ohio company and continued to use the "FB" name, but they are not the same as the original.

The real FB in downtown Boston is, literally, in the basement of a (now defunct) Filene's department store. It has exposed ventilation ducts, patchy lighting, and non-uniform floor tiles. Yet for all its ugliness, there can be incredible bargains: deeply discounted D&G, Prada, Joseph Abboud, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Kenneth Cole, Burberry, etc. can be found among the bins and racks. It really is like being set loose in the storage room of a department store during a fire sale. the longer an item sits on the shelves, the deeper the discounts become. I found (and bought) a pair of Seven jeans a few years ago, marked down to $50 from the original $168.

The suburban and non-Boston FB's are nothing like the original. They are cleaner, sure, but the inventory is not nearly as good. They are closer to a TJ Maxx or Marshalls. I will say, though, that the best FB outside Boston I have shopped in was on Connecticut Ave NW in DC. I don't know if that's still there, though.