Help ‘Bluestockings Bookstore’ Stay on the Lower East Side
This image has been archived or removed.
Bluestockings Bookstore is one of the few eclectic businesses left that manages to tread water during this tidal wave of hyper-gentrification. It’s operated on the Lower East Side for nearly two decades – 16 years, to be precise – pushing left-leaning literature on topics such as feminism, queer and gender studies, global capitalism, climate & environment, police and prisons, and radical education.
In fact, Bluestockings is reportedly designated one of only 13 remaining feminist-identified bookstores in North America.
And now it’s threatened. Blame the landlord, at least partially. The bookstore and activist center re-upped their lease at 172 Allen Street this past June for another five years at great cost. Plus, a fresh makeover is planned to keep the business going.
“Bluestockings believes that physical renovations to our storefront are vital to meeting demands of an ever-changing publishing industry and expanding our customer base,” reads a public statement on its struggle. “Bluestockings has only brought in enough money to cover the cost of keeping our doors open. In fact, no one at Bluestockings is even compensated for their work – our team of over 80 people (including our collective co-owners) donate their time to make Bluestockings run because they so strongly believe in our mission.”
So, in an effort to further cement its place in the neighborhood, Bluestockings sounded the clarion call this week, and is currently crowdfunding via Indiegogo. The campaign carries a goal of $50,000, with proceeds going toward a three-pronged makeover initiative: remodeling the storefront (new awning, signage, new wiring), updating the point-of-sale software and cafe equipment, and expanding overall inventory with new acquisitions.
The more detailed budget is as follows…
- $2,500 – License for new point of sale system
- $3,000 – Transfer to new point of sale system
- $5,400 – 12 months of new point of sale system software
- $3,000 – New computers and monitors
- $4,300 – Basic electrical repair
- $500 – Repair coffee machine
- $300 – Replace broken sound equipment
- $4,000 – Design, production, and installation of a new awning
- $21,000 – Labor and materials to redo flooring
- $6,000 – Loss of revenue when closed for flooring construction
- TOTAL: $50,000
Head to the campaign page here to donate.
Recent Stories
Grave Marker Fund for Homeless Man Beaten to Death on the Bowery Last Year
It’s been exactly one year since the city was rocked by the fatal bludgeoning of homeless men on the Bowery while they slept. Of the five beaten by 24-year-old attacker Randy Santos, four ultimately died – Chuen Kwok, Anthony Manson, Florencio Moran, and Nazario Vasquez-Villegas. In the days that followed the murders, elected officials and nonprofits held […]
Fridays Under $40: Scared with a Sandwich
In our Friday column, “Fridays Under $40,” Boogie writer Sara Graham again hits the streets to find cheap eats and affordable things to do during these weird times. In this edition, we’re staying inside for under $40. After I returned from a trip to Delaware to see my parents for the first time in almost […]
And then There’s this Apartment with a Tub in the Kitchen
The standard pre-war tenement layout included a bathtub in the kitchen. It made sense, as this was the central location of plumbing. The phenomenon began with the advent of plumbing in city tenements between 1901 and 1905. With bathhouses no longer necessary to wash up, the kitchen became central. The tub here made sense given […]
International Center of Photography to Reopen Next Week
The International Center of Photography is reopening in one week. Sidelined for more than six months (almost immediately after its debut at Essex Crossing), the 40,000 square-foot museum and school is making its galleries and gift shop accessible to the public. On tap are four exhibitions to “address this tumultuous time, marked by the effects of […]
Secondhand Bookstore Comes to Orchard Street
And today, in news out of left field… There is a secondhand bookstore coming to the Lower East Side. Down at 47 Orchard Street, the former home of Anna Sheffield’s eponymous jewelry boutique. The new store is as yet untitled, but will feature used books, vinyl records, and assorted antique. “I have a large collection […]
