St. Mark's Bookshop
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St. Mark's Bookshop was an independent book store, established in 1977 in New York City's East Village neighborhood. It was the oldest independent book store in Manhattan owned by the original owners. [1] The shop, run by proprietors Bob Contant and Terry McCoy, specialized in cultural and critical theory, graphic design, poetry, small presses, and film studies—what the New York Times called "neighborhood-appropriate literature."[1] It featured periodicals and journals, including foreign titles, and included a section on anarchists. The store was named after St. Mark's Place, where it was originally located. [2] St. Mark's closed on February 28, 2016. [3]
History
Past employees of St. Mark's Bookshop include artist Wade Guyton, poet Ron Kolm, and writer-performer Julie Klausner. [4] [5] Previous to founding St. Mark's Bookshop, owners Bob Contant and Terry McCoy both worked at 8th Street Books and also at East Side Books. [6]
Competitive pressure
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Independent bookstores have a long history in New York. Other examples include The Strand, Westsider, powerHouse, BookCourt, McNally Jackson, Shakespeare & Co, WORD, Longitude, Bluestockings, and Housing Works. [7] [8] These indie stores and small chains have been feeling competitive pressure from the larger chains, internet-based booksellers, and digital media. [9] In an attempt to be competitive with electronic media, St. Mark's and OR Books engaged in a joint venture where OR Books sold their electronic media via the St. Mark's website. [10]
Even some of the larger chains, such as Borders, have been unable to remain solvent in the face of competitive pressures from web-based stores and e-books. [11]
Financial problems
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In 2011, St. Mark's Bookshop began to have financial problems, due to the high rent. An online petition, started by a patron of the establishment, asking that the store's landlord, Cooper Union, reduce the rent, garnered over 40,000 signatures. [12] [13] In August, 2012, they raised over $24,000 in an online funding drive. [14] Cooper Union had been beset by financial woes of its own. The school, historically been tuition-free, started charging tuition in the fall of 2014 to make up for lost endowment income. [15]
In May 2014, the store announced plans to move from 31 Third Avenue to a smaller space at 126 E. Third St; their new landlord was the New York City Housing Authority. [16] Declining sales over the years made the store unable to afford the rent at the Third Avenue location. [17] An auction was held to raise funds to cover moving expenses. [18]
References
- 1 2 Leland, John (14 May 2014). "St. Mark's Bookshop in East Village Signs Lease on New Location". New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ Steinhauer, Jillian (10 February 2014). "Fighting for the Future of St. Mark's Bookshop". Hyperallergenic. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ Calhoun, Ada (12 February 2016). "What Went Wrong at St. Mark's Bookshop". The New Yorker. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ↑ Vogel, Carol (27 September 2012). "Painting, Rebooted". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Ruhling, Nancy (28 January 2014). "Astoria Characters: The Man Who Has His Way With Words". Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Ruhling, Nancy (12 August 2012). "Ten Reasons Why We Should Help St. Mark's Bookshop Survive". Karen the Small Press Librarian. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Halford, Macy (12 September 2011). "Should We Fight To Save Indie Bookstores?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Marotta, Jenna. "Three Bookselling Institutions Get Ready For Their Next Chapters". Bedford + Bowery. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ "The Future of Bookstores". Eco-Libris. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Teicher, Craig Morgan (7 December 2010). "OR Books Partners with St. Mark's Bookshop for E-Book Distribution". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Sanburn, Josh (19 July 2011). "5 Reasons Borders Went Out of Business (and What Will Take Its Place)". Time. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Stein, Lorin (5 October 2011). "Saving St. Mark's". The Paris review. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Mathias, Christopher (12 September 2011). "St. Mark's Bookshop Patron Starts Petition To Save Store From Closing". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Brown, Stephen Rex (14 August 2012). "Bookshop Meets Fundraising Goal, Not Out of Woods Yet". The Local / East Village. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Kaminer, Ariel (23 April 2013). "College Ends Free Tuition, and an Era". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ Fung, Amanda (15 May 2014). "St. Mark's Bookshop's new home". Crains's New York Business. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ Moss, Jeremiah. "St. Marks Books to E. 3rd St.". Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ Vilensky, Mike (4 December 2013). "Buy the Books, Save the Store". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
External links
Coordinates: 40°43′26″N 73°59′09″W / 40.72379°N 73.98585°W