For 21 years, Manhattan Eyeworks has been a go-to for Hell’s Kitchen residents in need of eyeglasses and eye care. Now, owner Marina Kleyman is preparing to close the 9th Avenue staple — and a decades-long chapter in the neighborhood.
Marina Kleyman helping customers at Manhattan Eyeworks. Photo: Brennan LaBrie
This past fall, Marina put a “store closing” sign in the window of her small storefront between W48th and W49th Streets, alongside another advertising 50% off all frames. Since then, a steady stream of customers has kept coming through the door. She’d planned to quietly close before the holiday break, but demand has kept her behind the counter.
When I stopped by, I had to get in line — and our conversation was repeatedly interrupted by new customers arriving to try on discounted frames and regulars popping in for one last appointment, or simply to say goodbye.
As we talked, Marina was helping Leanna Ross-Marans choose a new pair of frames. Along with her parents Karen and Richard, Leanna has been buying glasses from Marina since the shop opened. Leanna was in middle school and Marina was pregnant with her first son, who is now in dental school.
“It’s a real neighborhood store,” Karen said. “If we ever have an eyeglass issue, we come directly to Marina and she resolves it — and she always works to make it affordable.”
Erin Lee Kelly is a fan of Manhattan Eyeworks. Photo: Catie Savage
Longtime Hell’s Kitchen resident Erin Lee Kelly also singled out Manhattan Eyeworks as one of her favorite neighborhood spots in a 2024 West Side Story.
“Marina is one of the small business owners that make this place a neighborhood,” Kelly said. “She turns what can be a stressful errand into a fun exchange. I’ve never just popped in and out — I end up loitering, talking about travel, politics, television, food… She treats you like family and makes sure you look good!”
It’s regulars like Kelly and the Ross-Marans family that Marina says she’ll miss most — along with other “old school Hell’s Kitchen people” who enjoy a good conversation as much as she does.
“People are coming in and hugging me and telling me how happy they were to have me in the neighborhood,” Marina said, tearing up. “I am so grateful.”
Manhattan Eyeworks is running a sale until they close up on 9th Avenue. Photo: Brennan LaBrie
Marina will also miss Hell’s Kitchen itself, a neighborhood she’s known since she was five years old. After moving from Russia to Brooklyn, her mom worked in a discount store near Port Authority, while her dad drove taxis for 40 years.
She remembers riding through the neighborhood with her parents, begging them to take her to one of its many movie theaters — only later realizing most weren’t exactly family-friendly.
By the time she opened Manhattan Eyeworks, Marina had moved to Hell’s Kitchen. “It was really exciting because I was young and ready, and I lived on 44th Street so it was a nice walking commute,” she said.
A year after opening the shop, Marina had her first son. She returned to Brooklyn to raise him — and the two brothers that followed — commuting back into Manhattan to serve both Hell’s Kitchen regulars and office workers from nearby corporate headquarters.
She made it through the pandemic, but the shift to remote and hybrid work emptied out midtown offices. At the same time, more customers began moving their business online, to websites like Amazon, Warby Parker, and 1-800-Contacts.
Marina could have built an online store to compete, but that was never her style. “For me, it was always about meeting people — not so much doing things in this sterile way of just shipping products,” she said. “There’s no personal touch there.”
So what’s next? “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m still kind of young. Maybe I could do hair color — there’s a lot of things that I might want to do.” For now, she wants to clean her house and spend more time with her 14-year-old son and Mushy, the golden doodle they adopted last year.
Manhattan Eyeworks has always happily welcomed the canine friends of its clientele. Photo: Brennan LaBrie
As for a closing date, Marina says she’s taking it week by week as demand keeps her open — but it can’t last forever. For now, there’s still time to grab a new pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses at Manhattan Eyeworks, 709 9th Avenue (between W48/49th Streets) . Find their hours here.