Even landmarks
can't outlast this tough economic downturn. Greenwich
Village's famed Oscar Wilde Bookshop will shut its doors
after 41 years in March.
"Unfortunately we
do not have the resources to weather the current
economic crisis and find it's time to call it a day," wrote
owner Kim Brinster in an e-mailed message to patrons
that went out on Tuesday. "So thanks to all who have
been a part of the Oscar Wilde family over the years;
you have truly been a part of a great global community."
The shop, billed
as "the world's oldest gay and lesbian bookshop," was
established in 1967 on Mercer by Craig Rodwell. It
moved to its present location at 15 Christopher St. a few
years later. Rodwell, who organized the city's first
pride parade in 1970, died in 1993 of stomach cancer,
according to TheNew York Times. After two other owners briefly
took the reins, Brinster and her partner, Janet
Layard-Liesching, bought the store in 1996.
The store will
accept e-mail orders on its website until mid March, and
will officially close on March 29. Brinster told TheTimes that she pays $3,000 in rent alone, which
was already lower than comparable spaces.
"Even if we were
rent-free it wouldn’t be enough for us to cover the
bills we have," she said in the article. "This is one
instance in New York where it’s not a case of
the landlord gouging the tenant. Our landlord has
always been remarkable with us." (Michelle Garcia,
Advocate.com)
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