••• A New York Times article about J. Crew creative director, Jenna Lyons, leaving the company might lead one to wonder whether any of J. Crew’s six stores below Houston are at risk. (There are three in Soho, including a Madewell store; the two men’s stores in Tribeca; and one at Brookfield Place.)

J. Crew has been battling a two-year sales slump and is carrying a debt load of $2 billion, some of which will become current in 2018, prompting heightened speculation from investment analysts and news outlets of a possible bankruptcy filing. Same-store sales (purchases in stores that have been open more than a year, a gauge that eliminates the effect of new store openings on sales tallies) have fallen in 11 of the past 12 quarters. Last year, J. Crew shut its bridal business. And last month, the company, which is backed by the private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners, reported that revenue fell 2 percent, to $695 million, during the three months to Jan. 28. […] J. Crew’s woes can to a certain extent be attributed to the same malaise that has hit many of its peers, including Gap Inc., which is also suffering because of growing competition from even-cheaper fast-fashion competitors and an excess of brick-and-mortar stores.

••• “North Cove Sailing, the new entity that will offer community programs at North Cove Marina this year, previewed its options at the Tuesday meeting of Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee.” —Broadsheet

••• “A man who suffered a seizure in a McDonald’s Monday had his iPhone, wallet and coat stolen as he was lying unconscious on the floor.” —DNAinfo

••• “Plans to convert the former New York Stock Exchange building at 20 Broad Street into apartments is moving forward after the city’s Department of Buildings gave the developer the all clear last week.” The permits “show a three-story addition to the existing structure and 533 apartments,” along with an increase in garbage, kids needing to go to school somewhere, traffic, and so on. —Curbed