New Yorker to the rescue for Essex (neighborhood, shops)

[Cida]

This is the core of NYC, what makes us so special, all these little individual, sometimes idiosyncratic, shops.



After a Fire Gutted Their Special Store, Customers Rallied to Save It
Essex Card Shop, known for its spiritually positive manager and niche inventory, has a devoted clientele.
Still, many locals were anguished, as evidenced by an outpouring of social media posts and offers to do something, anything, to keep the family business going. The impassioned neighborhood reactions have led to a fund-raising initiative, which could very well save the shop.
“These small, privately run stores constitute the personality of the neighborhood,” said David Cale, a writer, performer and East Villager for more than 30 years. “If you replace them with big chains it becomes like Anywhere U.S.A.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/n...shop-fire.html

[dfc99]

I hope they are able to rebuild and reopen.