After 38 years at four locations, St. Mark's Bookshop closed last Feb. 28 (with an "epilogue sale" on March 5) at 136 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
As you probably know, the long-struggling store reportedly owned some $70,000 in back rent to the city (the NYCHA is the landlord here).
In any event, several readers noted that an eviction notice, dated June 9, had been taped to the gate this past week...
Seems a little late. NYCHA reportedly initiated eviction proceedings last July, per DNAinfo.
Inside, there are still some books on the shelves... looking the way it did on its last day in business.
The photo below is from May 22 by Arthur Nersesian ... the inside looks the same inside today...
I'd feel better about the bookstore if they hadn't apparently stiffed the city out of tens of thousands of dollars.
ReplyDeleteI suppose this is just a procedure to legalize their exit. It would be great is this space could be used by another small local business soon, hopefully one with better customer service and able to pay its bills.
ReplyDeleteThey could at least take those books off the shelves and hand them over to Manny on Ave A. He could sell them with a smile.
ReplyDeleteI suppose those books are now city property along with those nice bookcases.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the bookstore intentionally stiffed the city, he just didn't have the
ReplyDeletemoney to pay. He didn't have the money because he wan't making much.
He probably wasn't making much because of the location and the
cost of the custom bookcases, etc.
That location, while a location to relocate to and stay in the neighborhood,
wasn't helpful to his type of business location.