New Roots

"Put a bookstore in a neighborhood, and you really feel the roots of a community growing," said Lois Harvey, owner of West Side Books.

That's from a Saturday article in the Denver Post about the community bookstores in that great bookish town.

I thought it was a perfect expression of not only why Rebecca and I want to start our bookstore in Fort Greene, but why the neighborhood wants one.

A bookstore isn't just a place to get books; there are lots of those. It's a place to spend your leisure time, to meet your neighbors, to talk to folks with shared interests, to hear new authors read, to learn about issues or what's coming up. It's what's often called a Third Place, like a pub or a social club: not home, not work, but the place in between, where the life of the neighborhood really is. It's where our shared history gets made.

Fort Greene has strong roots already, and it's also got lots of newer residents who have been attracted to that history and identity. When the Fort Greene Association's Retail Survey revealed that residents of all backgrounds and races were hoping for a bookstore, that revealed something: that the neighborhood wants to strengthen and grow those roots.

We hope Greenlight Bookstore is going to be a place that together the different threads of the neighborhood, where all our roots can grow together.