Monday, July 2, 2012

Report: St. Mark's Bookshop looking for a new, smaller home


In an article Crain's posted this afternoon about Hue-Man Bookstore & Café closing its doors in Harlem, reporter Matthew Flamm also notes:

St. Mark's Bookshop, a literary fixture in the East Village for 35 years, is hoping to move out of its current home when its rent goes up toward the end of this year.

According to the article, the $250,000 small business grant that St. Mark's (and many others) applied for from Chase Bank would go to finance a move to a smaller location.

Said Bookshop co-owner Bob Contant: "We'd like to stay in the East Village. We understand the print book business has declined, but we're still doing enough business to keep going, if we had a smaller space with less rent."

No word on plans if they don't get the grant...

In a much-publicized story last fall, landlord Cooper Union agreed to reduce the store's rent to about $17,500 a month from $20,000 for one year, and to forgive $7,000 in debt. But that one year is quickly coming to an end...

16 comments:

Laura Goggin Photography said...

I don't know the price, but the old Blockbuster space on Houston could work.

Anonymous said...

maybe they should look at one of the empty storefronts on 10th btwn 1st and A. wonder if there's enough space/cheap enough rent at any of the handful of empty store fronts on that block.

Anonymous said...

Have has the real estate industry completely taken over the boards of all the big Universities?

NYU wants to tear down Greenwich village, Cooper Union wants to charge its students tuition....

It seems like what's best for the students (not to mention the neighborhood) is the LAST thing these people are interested in.

Anonymous said...

don't cooper union students need books?
does cooper union have some sort of student book store?

perhaps they could have some sort of deal where they get a break on rent and then stock books that students in cooper union need for their classes

tourist said...

that rent is crazy. this road leads to big corporations being the only ones that can pay it. manhattan which was one of the most unique cities in the world, will be a big chain mall. book stores are done though anyway. they have been kindled.

Marty Wombacher said...

I hope they have luck in finding a new space with less rent. A smaller St. Mark's is better than no St. Mark's.

LvV said...

Move to the Superdive space! It's meant to be a bookstore!

pleasepleaseplease

Anonymous said...

I would love it if they came over to Avenue A or Avenue B. Here's hoping they find a more affordable space somewhere in the E.V.

Laura Goggin Photography said...

@LvV - you are so right! And they could serve wine, haha!

UbuWeb said...

Wouldn't it be great if they could become Cooper Union's bookstore, stocking textbooks along side of the wonderful esoterica that is their hallmark? Why not something collaborative? Win-win, methinks.

THE NOTORIOUS L.I.B.E.R.A.T.I.O.N. said...

The Superdive location would be perfect. I miss Rapture Cafe. They did a great job curating the books they sold.

Jill said...

I bet they move to Brooklyn.

Jill said...

Cc

Anonymous said...

they could move back to st marks--both the (cursed) spaces at the bottom of the building mid-block between 1 and A on the north side of the street just west of crif dogs are open...

Anonymous said...

why not just set up a folding table like most booksellers in the area?

shmnyc said...

I don't think I've passed by this store once without thinking they never should have left their old space on St. Marks. They were done in by their own greed.