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Decades-old independent bookshop, Penn Books, closes
The shops rent had increased to $45,000 a month
Rising rents have closed yet another decades-old independent bookshop.
Penn Books was closed and empty as of Friday, according to DNAinfo. Before closing, owner Craig Newman had posted a Facebook plea for financial help to keep the store open.
“I am trying to survive but it gets harder every day,” he wrote. “My rent is now a staggering $45,000 a month, not including property taxes and another $20,000 a year in commercial rent tax if anybody can do anything or cares about saving my bookstore, please HELP.”
Newman had recently spoken about the mass extinction of independent stores in the city in a video for #SaveNYC, a group dedicated to helping the city’s small businesses. [DNAinfo] – Christopher Cameron