NYC’s Blue Stockings Bookstore Raises Over $100,000 to Finance Move

By Lori Perkins

The beloved collectively owned bookstore in New York’s Lower East Side recently announced that after 21 years at its current Allen Street location it would be moving to a larger, more accessible space at 116 Suffolk Street. Moving and re-imaging the new space to accommodate the future of the bookstore was estimated to cost more than $100,000, so the bookstore organized a fundraiser on Gofundme.com through the holiday season. Patrons and readers came through with donations from $10 and up to the tune of $102,444, as of January 6th.

However, the bookstore’s dream vision for the new shop is estimated to cost $150,000, so the fundraiser is continuing. According to description of the call for funds on the site, the bookstore hopes to create “a larger, more accessible place to read, eat, and be in community with each other. Our new space is more than double the size of 172 Allen Street! Accessibility needs are at the forefront of our plans when designing the new space, with a fully ADA-compliant bathroom, expanded café seating, lower café countertops, clear exit paths and wider aisles. We are excited to have more space and need your help to install a platform lift in our cafe area to make sure that our disabled comrades are able to take full advantage of the space. This extra room also gives us the opportunity to have a much needed area dedicated exclusively to events and meetings for our friends who run book clubs, labor organizers, and anyone else who utilizes Bluestockings as a hub for radical thought.

Here is a link to the fundraiser, https://www.gofundme.com/f/build-a-new-home-for-bluestockings-in-the-les

We can’t wait for opening day!