A Bookstore, Finally, Comes to the Bronx (Huntington, Larchmont: sales, co-op)
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I hadn't realized that the Bronx was so short-changed.
A Bookstore, Finally, Comes to the Bronx
Five years ago when Barnes & Noble announced that it was closing the only branch it had opened there, residents and local civic leaders were angry and heartbroken and fought to save it. At the time, there were 90 bookstores in Manhattan. But the Bronx essentially had just the one, and now it would disappear. Those who lived in the Bronx couldn’t help feeling that the gatekeepers of cultural commerce found them unworthy.
Im so proud of Ms.Santos. She was very brave and dedicated to giving back to the borough she grew up in. I like reading stories like these. Instead of waiting for change, she became the change. Thanks for the post.
I hadn't realized that the Bronx was so short-changed.
A Bookstore, Finally, Comes to the Bronx
Five years ago when Barnes & Noble announced that it was closing the only branch it had opened there, residents and local civic leaders were angry and heartbroken and fought to save it. At the time, there were 90 bookstores in Manhattan. But the Bronx essentially had just the one, and now it would disappear. Those who lived in the Bronx couldn’t help feeling that the gatekeepers of cultural commerce found them unworthy.
Since independent bookstores are my second favorite hangouts (after public libraries), I wish the owner all the best with the bookstore venture (even if she has never been inside an independent bookstore before deciding to open one, as described in the article).
It is, however, impossible to agree with another ridiculous assertion that somebody else other than the Bronxites themselves caused their deprivation problems, in this case deprivation from bookstores. The article says that "those who lived in the Bronx couldn't help feeling that the gatekeepers of cultural commerce found them unworthy". Which gatekeepers of cultural commerce??? There are several public library branches in the Bronx - I have visited one, ie, Parkchester, and saw that it is being used only as a space for school kids to study after school. That is a good use, but when kids are not there, the library is empty, and I have not seen anyone checking out books any time I was there for a couple of hours - so it is not that the gatekeepers of culture found the Bronxites unworthy, but the Bronxites are finding traditional culture unworthy of THEIR interest. Barnes and Noble closed its Bronx bookstore due to the same reason why it closed so many other of its stores nationwide: nobody was buying books. Businesses tend to close when they have no customers - that is the reason for lack of bookstores in the Bronx (and a greatly decreased number of bookstores still left operating nationwide).
I am glad, though, that the owner of the new Bronx bookstore decided to go into that business, and I hope she'll be able to keep it afloat. Bookstores that combine bookselling with the primary business of offering stuff to eat have a better chance of surviving, as they do not actually rely on book sales for survival.
the bronx is deprived of basic necessities current day. i've been saying this ad nauseum. its WAY BEHIND the other boros
The Bronx does have libraries bro, get a grip
I agree with my Parkchester friend, the opening of the bookstore is great - but there are free resources (public libraries) that have already exist. So to say the Bronx is deprived in this instance is not completely accurate. Barnes & Noble closed because ppl in Co-Op weren't buying books, and Westchester isn't going to Bay Plaza to shop.
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Since independent bookstores are my second favorite hangouts (after public libraries), I wish the owner all the best with the bookstore venture (even if she has never been inside an independent bookstore before deciding to open one, as described in the article).
It is, however, impossible to agree with another ridiculous assertion that somebody else other than the Bronxites themselves caused their deprivation problems, in this case deprivation from bookstores. The article says that "those who lived in the Bronx couldn't help feeling that the gatekeepers of cultural commerce found them unworthy". Which gatekeepers of cultural commerce??? There are several public library branches in the Bronx - I have visited one, ie, Parkchester, and saw that it is being used only as a space for school kids to study after school. That is a good use, but when kids are not there, the library is empty, and I have not seen anyone checking out books any time I was there for a couple of hours - so it is not that the gatekeepers of culture found the Bronxites unworthy, but the Bronxites are finding traditional culture unworthy of THEIR interest. Barnes and Noble closed its Bronx bookstore due to the same reason why it closed so many other of its stores nationwide: nobody was buying books. Businesses tend to close when they have no customers - that is the reason for lack of bookstores in the Bronx (and a greatly decreased number of bookstores still left operating nationwide).
I am glad, though, that the owner of the new Bronx bookstore decided to go into that business, and I hope she'll be able to keep it afloat. Bookstores that combine bookselling with the primary business of offering stuff to eat have a better chance of surviving, as they do not actually rely on book sales for survival.
Have you been to the Huntington Free Library in Westchester Square? It's an independent library and is pretty interesting.
A quick Google search reveals that all of the colleges in the Bronx have bookstores which are open to the public. There are also many religious and cultural bookstores, for example ones geared toward Spanish speakers. The reason people like this new store is because it serves beer.
I wonder why they closed the Barnes and Noble in the first place. Maybe people are going to the small bookstores in Larchmont.
I understand the nostalgia feeling of smelling the book, flipping through the pages, making dog ears on the pages, scribbling notes in the bindings, and passing the book on to a friend when finished or doing a book swap.
BUT we are in a digital age where delivery speed is now, not 5 -7 days. Print/physical media is dying in all forms, from the first death Blockbuster to now video game consoles going digital only. Barns and Noble knew this when it launched the Nook and even the NY Times make more in digital subscriptions than they do in paper sales. Ad space bring in more revenue too when going with digital prints as someone can always slip in "recommendations, or if you like this book check out these others by the same author or genre. A So although i welcome the opening of a book store rather than another liquor store, i do not see this book store staying afloat for long unless it have a very dedicated group that will continue to spend money there.
It's not that unusual anymore to not have a local bookstore. I don't think Queens has a full time bookstore since Barnes & Noble closed their last store in Queens. There may be some indie bookstores but I doubt there are any that are open seven days a week with regular business hours that have a full selection of books.
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