There Are No More Bookstores In The Bronx
The bookstore in questions is a Barnes & Noble, that familiar big chain that has been struggling lately. Traditionally, big box bookstores like Barnes & Noble and the now-defunct Borders were the enemies in the great bookstore battle. They were bland, mall-like enterprises that undercut the prices of mom-and-pop places. But now the bigger threat is behemoth online bookseller Amazon and its ilk, which is undercutting brick-and-mortar even more aggressively. The last independent bookstore in the Bronx, Books in the Hood, closed in 2011. It’s easy to cry foul at buying from a big chain when you have the option to buy from a smaller venue. But this closure is reminder of what a luxury that choice is. This Barnes & Noble was the only bookstore in a borough of 1.4 million people.
The Daily News interviewed a resident named Amelia Zaino who’s petitioning to keep the store open. “To me, it’s an insult,” Zaino told the News. “They say the Bronx is booming, but in a way its the same old Bronx.” A Barnes & noble official said that the chain will look to re-open somewhere in the borough soon. But the bookstore desert in the Bronx, a borough in what’s supposed to be one of the most forward-thinking, literary, and cultural centers in the country should give us all pause.