
New York’s last remaining independent bookshops - pmoriarty
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/02/new-york-remaining-independent-bookshops-booksellers-ungar-bohbot
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samspenc
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.

~~~
danso
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]

[0] [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/st-marks-
bookshop-...](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/st-marks-bookshop-
crowdfunding_n_1729819.html)

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strand_Bookstore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strand_Bookstore)

[2] [https://www.bloomreach.com/en/blog/2016/03/bh-photo-
competes...](https://www.bloomreach.com/en/blog/2016/03/bh-photo-competes-in-
the-amazon-era.html)

~~~
arkades
I think there’s two elements. One is rent, which is a very real issue: Saint’s
Alp and The Cheese Shop never had a quiet moment, were basically on the same
block, and have both gone belly up.

That said, the bookstore sucked. It had far too few books per square foot -
easily an order of magnitude or more less than the Strand - but their curation
was, outside of political tracts, bland and unsurprising. I’d never walk in
there and find the book I was looking for; I’d never walk in there and find an
unexpected gem. You have to deliver at least one of those, and your curation
had better be top notch if your position is “we will only stock a (relative)
handful of books.”

They went out of business because they were bad at what they did, but great
stores on the same block can’t cope with the rent either.

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pthreads
For those wondering where the list of bookstores actually is there are about
25-28 here :

1\. [https://mymodernmet.com/ny-indie-booksellers-bohbot-
ungar/](https://mymodernmet.com/ny-indie-booksellers-bohbot-ungar/) 2\.
[http://www.franckbohbot.com/nyib](http://www.franckbohbot.com/nyib)

I think the full book including interviews is yet to be published.

~~~
bogomipz
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.

[1] [https://www.argosybooks.com/](https://www.argosybooks.com/)

~~~
pthreads
Thank you. I have to check it out next time I am in NYC. The article also
reminded me of the roughly 200 Seine-side booksellers in Paris.

~~~
bogomipz
The "bouquinistes" of Paris, yes. There used to be more of that style along
stretch across from Cooper Union before the IBM building was built. That's why
I loved that they included that one woman who is still there hawking used
books on the sidewalk.

Definitely give Argosy a visit, you won't be disappointed. If you are a
bibliophile and want to see the rare book offering on the 5th and 6th floors
you can do so by simply making an appointment ahead of time. But even just
visiting the other 3 floors is more than worthwhile. Cheers.

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somberi
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.

The story of how Kew & Willow came to be is also interesting:
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1844468864/lets-
bring-a...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1844468864/lets-bring-a-
bookshop-back-to-queens-ny?ref=thanks_tweet)

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robotkdick
This is a example of great photojournalism. The images of the booksellers tell
a great story on their own.

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8bitsrule
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.

~~~
gwbas1c
Running a business is about cash flow.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
Yes, and if you have a landlord then the cash will always end up flowing in
their direction.

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bogomipz
Did I miss something obvious where is the actual list of the 50 independent
book sellers?

