I'm guessing the problem - as with most small retail stores in Manhattan - is rising rent. Ironically, that is resulting in plenty of retail vacancies.
I have a hard time believing that this is the main problem. I used to live near the mentioned St. Marks Bookstore and visited it several times a month. I moved before it closed in 2016, but I remember what it was like when it was fighting hard via crowdfunding [0] to stay alive. Even at that critical time, the place felt like a ghost town. Yes, high rent was a factor, but only because it didn't seem to get much business as Amazon/Kindle continued to grow.
From the article:
> That extends to its bookshops, many of which have fallen to astronomically rising rents. St Mark’s Bookshop, for example, which opened in 1977 and became a sort of literary HQ for punks, was the oldest independent bookshop in Manhattan until it closed in 2016, despite celebrity support from Patti Smith and Salman Rushdie.
I'm confused. Isn't The Strand (just a few blocks away from St Mark's original location) an independent bookstore too? Wikipedia says it was founded in 1927 [1]. That was another bookstore that I visited frequently, though I would argue that it's reached a certain level of critical mass and success that makes it able to buck the general trend -- even if Amazon has a bigger selection and better prices, visiting The Strand is a worthwhile experience in itself. Similar to B&H Photo Video [2]
> I'm guessing the problem - as with most small retail stores in Manhattan - is rising rent.
I think the bigger problem is jerks like me who go to bookstores to browse or use the restroom and then go home and order the books on amazon. Sadly, I just can't be bothered to carry the books home. I just can't.
> Ironically, that is resulting in plenty of retail vacancies.
Is this odd to anyone else? From the Manhattan mall to downtown to the UWS, I'm seeing as many vacancy signs today as I saw during the financial crisis 10 years ago. Strange to see so many vacancies in such a strong economy. Maybe it's that so much of economic commerce is going online. What's going to happen during a recession? Are all storefronts going to be banks and RiteAid/Duane Reade?
Ah thank you. This is a great list. Surprised to see that Argosy didn't make the cut. Its actually the oldest indie bookstore in NYC now. Also started on book row back in the 1920s. The place is a treasure trove. I would highly recommend it. You can kill an afternoon in there [1]
I love that they included that woman on Astor Place though.
Since I did not see any entries from Queens (One of the five boroughs of NYC), I would like to add Astoria bookshop
and a new entrant in Kew Gardens - Kew & Willow.
What's sad is that the great neighborhood bookstores never manage to own their spaces. That was just as true 40 years ago (when my favorite in a retired old-fashioned brick firestation went under.)
I'm probably wrong (never talked to an insider) but owning just doesn't seem to be in the DNA of the store owners to go for that. A shame for them, and for the fate of the thousands of books that make them special in the first place.
Wouldn’t owning their real estate in New York require access to tens of millions of dollars in cash? Where is a bookshop owner going to get that? It sounds more like a practical barrier to doing that rather than a choice thing in their ‘DNA’.
[+] [-] samspenc|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danso|7 years ago|reply
From the article:
> That extends to its bookshops, many of which have fallen to astronomically rising rents. St Mark’s Bookshop, for example, which opened in 1977 and became a sort of literary HQ for punks, was the oldest independent bookshop in Manhattan until it closed in 2016, despite celebrity support from Patti Smith and Salman Rushdie.
I'm confused. Isn't The Strand (just a few blocks away from St Mark's original location) an independent bookstore too? Wikipedia says it was founded in 1927 [1]. That was another bookstore that I visited frequently, though I would argue that it's reached a certain level of critical mass and success that makes it able to buck the general trend -- even if Amazon has a bigger selection and better prices, visiting The Strand is a worthwhile experience in itself. Similar to B&H Photo Video [2]
[0] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/st-marks-bookshop-...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strand_Bookstore
[2] https://www.bloomreach.com/en/blog/2016/03/bh-photo-competes...
[+] [-] ravenscrow|7 years ago|reply
I think the bigger problem is jerks like me who go to bookstores to browse or use the restroom and then go home and order the books on amazon. Sadly, I just can't be bothered to carry the books home. I just can't.
> Ironically, that is resulting in plenty of retail vacancies.
Is this odd to anyone else? From the Manhattan mall to downtown to the UWS, I'm seeing as many vacancy signs today as I saw during the financial crisis 10 years ago. Strange to see so many vacancies in such a strong economy. Maybe it's that so much of economic commerce is going online. What's going to happen during a recession? Are all storefronts going to be banks and RiteAid/Duane Reade?
[+] [-] pthreads|7 years ago|reply
1. https://mymodernmet.com/ny-indie-booksellers-bohbot-ungar/ 2. http://www.franckbohbot.com/nyib
I think the full book including interviews is yet to be published.
[+] [-] bogomipz|7 years ago|reply
I love that they included that woman on Astor Place though.
[1] https://www.argosybooks.com/
[+] [-] somberi|7 years ago|reply
The story of how Kew & Willow came to be is also interesting: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1844468864/lets-bring-a...
[+] [-] robotkdick|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 8bitsrule|7 years ago|reply
I'm probably wrong (never talked to an insider) but owning just doesn't seem to be in the DNA of the store owners to go for that. A shame for them, and for the fate of the thousands of books that make them special in the first place.
[+] [-] chrisseaton|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gwbas1c|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|7 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] bogomipz|7 years ago|reply