Bluestockings Cooperative in New York City has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help it recover from financial difficulties, Gothamist reported.
The worker-owned cooperative is hoping to raise $150,000 and has so far raised just over $53,000. Money raised will go toward paying off roughly $100,000 in debt to publishers and distributors as well as rebuilding the bookstore's inventory, which has become reliant on donated titles.
The financial difficulties are the result of a protracted dispute over the bookstore's harm reduction and support services, particularly those benefiting people who are unhoused. Those services, as well as Bluestockings' policy allowing anyone to use the bathroom and to stay as long as they liked, led to unhoused people congregating at the bookstore, which in turn led to mounting tension with nearby residents.
In October 2023, the bookstore received a 15-day "notice to cure" from its landlord, claiming that the bookstore was violating its lease. Since then, the bookstore has staved off eviction but has faced legal costs along with the cost of additional staff and security, which the store hired to allay residents' concerns.
Jay Gandhi, one of the bookstore's worker-owners, told Gothamist that Bluestockings once "had a book-buying budget of $35,000 a month," but hasn't been able to buy new books since late September 2024.
Worker-owner Stella Becerril added, "foot traffic is slow, but it's rebuilding. Rumors were circulating that we were closing, but we're here."