Greenlight’s PLG location is crossing the rainbow bridge.
Park Slope of the east, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, has had its own Greenlight Bookstore since 2016, an addition to the neighborhood that made people feel, We have our own bookstore! All we need, now, is a good place to buy sourdough bread. But in an unfortunate sign of the times, Greenlight has announced that the store will close in May.
The PLG store was supported by the thicket of local authors, including Rumaan Alam, Stephanie Clifford, Robert Jones, Jr., Darcey Steinke, and many others, and was a great place to let your child pick through the shelves of picture books while practicing benign neglect. The pandemic temporarily closed both the PLG and original Fort Greene location, but locals came through with curbside orders.
Staff unionized in 2022 and the store ratified their contract. Employees will be laid off when the store closes.
Company owner Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo advised in a post that business was simply too hard:
“We’ve had some financial struggles; sales have fallen, while costs remain high. We have done what we can in terms of short term solutions—implementing new marketing strategies, returning inventory, reducing hours, paring back buying, even getting a small business loan—but it’s not enough.”
It is a loss! Shop now while ye can. Or find a friend and buy it!
