Sunday, February 3, 2019

Reactions to St. Mark's Comics closing


[Photo by Steven]

As first noted on Tuesday, St. Mark's Comics announced that it will close at the end of February after 36 years on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

"I have been working 90 hours a week for 36 years, and I no longer have the wherewithal to fight them — all of these various reasons," owner Mitch Cutler told me about all the different factors that led to his decision to close up shop. "It is challenging to have a storefront business in New York City for a number of reasons...it is challenging to keep and maintain a retail storefront and there are enough impediments now that—like I said, I'm exhausted and can't fight them anymore."

News of the closing was picked up by a variety of news sources (and thanks to Curbed and Gothamist for linking to my post!) ... there was a lot of reaction via Twitter. Here's a sampling...









And there was this from storyboard artist Sean Chen...


Meanwhile, the store is having a clearance sale, as you can see on the sign outside...


[Photo by Steven]

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another little piece of what made the EV the EV is leaving us. While I am not a collector I know that this place was a special stop for those who were and for those who wanted to be.
Thank you for making our neighborhood just a little better than it was these last 30 years.

Anonymous said...

This beloved shop was prominently featured in an episode of Sex and the City; Season Three "Hot Child In The City" circa 2000. Carrie meets a feckless man named Wade who owns this comic book shop on Saint Marks and whom still lives at home with his parents in his mid-thirties. They meet when Carrie realizes it is no longer a shoe repair store. They hook up, smoke a lot of 420, and eventually break up. Whenever I pass by this store, I think of that series, and how it made me curious if the shop really existed. Of course it did! They filmed all over Manhattan and chose authentic locales where people actually lived and worked.

While I don't purchase comic books, I know this shop will be missed and forever adored. Another sad reminder how the EV and NYC are slowly being dismantled and rebuilt in favor of greed, wealth and materialism. Even though I am only 40, I miss the good ole days of NYC when I moved here at twenty in 1999. All of these businesses stand for something. They represent optimism and uniqueness. With fewer operations, much of our city feels more sterile and suburban. I don't blame the owner for checking out and moving on. Such a different time in our world and city now :(