With a half million books, Sylvia and Doron Levy's store maintains classic cluttered ambiance
Originally Published: Sunday, November 13 2011,
Jacob E. Osterhout/
Sylvia and Doron Levy at their independent bookstore, Here's a Book Store, in Sheepshead Bay. Here’s a Book Store, 1964 Coney Island Ave., (718) 645-6675
As owner Sylvia Levy says, Here’s a Book Store, a Sheepshead Bay staple since 1975, is “both the best book store and the worst in the neighborhood.” That’s because it is the only bookstore left in the area. But Sylvia, who runs the shop with her son Doron, and has outlasted at least five local competitors in 35 years of business, is merely being humble about her tome-stuffed storefront. Lined with shelves stacked three deep with every type of book imaginable, Here’s a Book Store maintains the cluttered, dusty ambiance that New Yorkers expect from a top-rate neighborhood bookstore. The shop not only caters to the over half-dozen nearby yeshivas, carrying many books on the curriculums, but also has half a million other books, 80% of which are used. And while parking can be tough on Coney Island Ave., the Levys provide a valet service that delivers books to drivers idling in their cars outside the store. The best part of Here’s a Book Store isn’t the books, but the family that sells them. With 80 years of experience in the neighborhood, the Levys know just what Brooklyn wants to read.
Tatiana Nicoli provides a literary haven for both young and adult readers in her Boulevard Books & Cafe.(Joy Keh)Boulevard Books and Cafe, 7518 13th Ave., (718) 680-5811
Sunlit, spacious and clean — these are a few words that come to mind when stepping into Boulevard Books in Dyker Heights. The store, which opened in 2010, is a kid-friendly book haven with a beautiful back garden where adults can sit down and relaxas well. Plus, owner Tatiana Nicoli, a former lawyer, is a a neighborhood native attuned to local needs. And what the locals need is a well-stocked children’s books section with stuffed monkeys, zebras, lions and elephants to keep the kids company while they read. Plus, Boulevard Books hosts a range of events from Saturday storytime to a monthly open mic poetry night.
A customer browses the fiction section at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in SoHo.(Jacob E. Osterhout)Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, 126 Crosby St., (212) 334-3324
The only thing better for a well-read New Yorker than buying a book is buying a book and donating to charity at the same time. The Housing Works Bookstore in SoHo gives literati the opportunity to browse thousands of donated books, CDs and DVDs with all proceeds going to Housing Works’ mission of ending “the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS.” But don’t just shop out of the goodness of your heart. Located on a trendy cobblestone street, the bookstore boasts a beautiful interior with 70 chairs where people can read, and a cafe that serves a delicious iced tea. The space is so beautiful that “30 Rock”, “Gossip Girl” and “The Smurfs” all filmed scenes there. And the prices are right. Most books, especially those in the well-stocked fiction section, are sold for half the cover price.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/best-ny-s-a-book-store-sheepshead-bay-named-best-independent-bookstore-york-article-1.975722#ixzz1dhht1Eat
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