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...
I don't know the price, but the old Blockbuster space on Houston could work.
ReplyDeletemaybe 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.
ReplyDeleteHave has the real estate industry completely taken over the boards of all the big Universities?
ReplyDeleteNYU 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.
don't cooper union students need books?
ReplyDeletedoes 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
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.
ReplyDeleteI hope they have luck in finding a new space with less rent. A smaller St. Mark's is better than no St. Mark's.
ReplyDeleteMove to the Superdive space! It's meant to be a bookstore!
ReplyDeletepleasepleaseplease
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.
ReplyDelete@LvV - you are so right! And they could serve wine, haha!
ReplyDeleteWouldn'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.
ReplyDeleteThe Superdive location would be perfect. I miss Rapture Cafe. They did a great job curating the books they sold.
ReplyDeleteI bet they move to Brooklyn.
ReplyDeleteCc
ReplyDeletethey 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...
ReplyDeletewhy not just set up a folding table like most booksellers in the area?
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDelete