Bluestockings Bookstore, the collectively-run activist center, community space and feminist bookstore that has been based on the Lower East Side for over two decades, announced they have officially closed their storefront on Suffolk Street and will be ending all online services by the end of the year.
In a note on Bluestockings’ website and social media platforms, they addressed their community: “After 26+ years of serving marginalized communities as an independent feminist bookstore, event hub, and all-around radical community space, the daily operations are unfortunately no longer sustainable on multiple fronts.” And noted, “…This decision comes after the shared failures of multiple cohorts to come to consensus around the guiding principles and practices Bluestockings should embody to move forward as a worker-owned cooperative that serves as a radical bookstore, cafe, and community event space. We’ve made a lot of mistakes, but the lack of political and business-operations alignment on upholding the responsibilities of our space has directly led to many of the setbacks we’ve faced the last two years. Of course, $12,000 a month in rent, thousands in utilities, and racist, classist violence from “neighbors” certainly didn’t make our work any easier.”
The collective started in a space on Allen Street and moved to Suffolk Street in 2021. Over the years the activist center adapted with the times and evolved from a feminist bookstore into what they framed as “New York’s only queer, trans AND sex worker run bookstore.”
Co-owner Raquel Espasande told Gothamist in a text message “The bookstore has been fighting a losing battle against debt for over two years now… Unfortunately, we frankly hit the wall.” Gothamist also noted, “The closure comes after years of financial strain and mounting public controversy. In late 2023, the store’s landlord issued warnings citing what it described as unauthorized medical activity and unsafe conditions, and by January of this year, Bluestockings workers said the cooperative was nearly $100,000 in debt to publishers and book distributors.”
