Free the People
Freebird bookstore in Red Hook is my favorite place in this city. It's on the waterfront, it's stuffed with books, and there are easy chairs to sit in and coffee to drink. What more do you need? It's got this out-of-the-way feel that's unlike anything else in NY, and there are usually no more than two or three people in it (counting you and the owner).
Mercer Books in Manhattan is as good a bookstore. And there's a similar you-can-stay-all-day-and-read-an-entire-book-without-buying-it ambience, but no chairs and no coffee.
The owner of Freebird told me today she's looking to sell. It might be turned into a restaurant. Aggh. It's the coolest little spot right now. There are zines and 7-inch records by local artists and old cds and great ancient books as well as a very respectable current-fiction section. Or you can just sit and stare out the window. It's the best.
I signed their mailing list and wrote "please don't close" under comments. But how often does a 2nd-hand bookstore win out over a restaurant? The owner said there were several people interested in buying it and keeping it a bookstore and I pray they follow through.
posted by La Misma at 9:55 AM
4 Comments:
ugh I hate when that happens. at least you got a cool place to go to. there's nothing fun or amusing or cool or pleasant to go to in my neighborhood.
8:29 AM
Oh p'gal, that sucks for you. My neighborhood is irritating but it does have a few sanctuaries. Like there are these cool gardens in Red Hook where you can sit and read on the weekends. You should come visit me.
3:14 PM
wait. when did you move to red hook. not back on luquer are you?
If you did move from Carrol/Cobble recently, in the course of a couple years, you went from a down-and-out artist hipster hood to a yuppie, stroller hipster hood back to that once-solidly-down-and-out, industrial, working-class hipster hood on its way to becoming a stroller hipster hood.
9:26 PM
No no, I'm just near Red Hook. It's like a 5 minute walk. I'm still in the stroller hood. Red Hook is a nice alternative.
5:32 AM
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