NEW YORK – Strand Book Store, the famous independent bookstore loved by New Yorkers, is asking for help due to the economic consequences of the current health crisis.
Nancy Bass Wyden, owner of Strand, published a letter asking for help and addressing the bookstore’s dire financial situation.
“Strand’s revenue is down nearly 70% compared to last year. And while the PPP loan they gave us and our cash reserves allowed us to weather the last eight months of losses, we are now at a tipping point in that our business is unsustainable, “the letter reads in part.
“Due to the impact of Covid-19, we cannot survive with the huge decrease in foot traffic, an almost complete loss of tourism, and zero events in stores (compared to 400 events leading up to the pandemic),” Wyden continues.
The bookstore, a beloved business for bibliophiles, has been a part of the New York City scene for nearly a century, remaining the only bookstore that was part of Book Row (or the Book Walk), a segment of the Fourth Avenue with a total of 48 bookstores at one time.
“We have survived almost everything for 93 years: the Great Depression, two World Wars, large bookstores, e-books and online. We are the last of the 48 original bookstores still standing that was part of the famous Book Row of the Fourth Avenue, “Wyden’s letter continued.
Wyden is part of the third generation of the bookstore started by his grandfather.
“I’m going to do my best to continue to share our mutual love for the printed word. But for the first time in Strand’s 93-year history, we need to mobilize the community to shop with us and we can keep our doors open until there is a vaccine, “ends Wyden’s note.
The call for help quickly fell on the ears of book lovers around the world, who rushed to visit the bookstore’s website, causing it to crash on Friday.
