New York book lovers (as well as visiting book lovers) are intimately familiar with the Strand, an iconic independent bookstore in Greenwich Village with millions of new, used, and rare books piled high on shelves you could spend hours browsing through.
If you were only getting your news from the Twitter feed of New York mayor turned foundering 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio, you might get the impression that the store was on the brink of going out of business before his administration stepped in to save it:
I’ve been shopping at @strandbookstore since college. I know it’s one of the most special places in our city.
This week we made it a landmark so that the culture and community it brings to the Village can be enjoyed by New Yorkers for generations to come. https://t.co/54rwBDq1Kb
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 13, 2019
The tweet makes it sound as though the landmark designation was necessary to stop some big developer from coming in to tear down the building. In reality, the case is the opposite. The Strand is hanging in there amid competition from online retailers, but the owner of the store has been arguing that the landmark designation could “destroy” the bookstore by burdening it with extravagant new expenses and upkeep costs. She actually says her business is “under siege” by de Blasio.
The issue came to a head because de Blasio’s campaign donors are building a tech center nearby, and in an attempt to mollify local preservationists, he decided to pick seven nearby buildings to declare landmarks. But declaring a building a landmark adds to maintenance expenses, and requires more approvals for renovations, which typically involve using more expensive historic materials.
“The thing that started it was Mayor Bill de Blasio,” owner Nancy Bass-Wyden (who is the wife of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.) told the New York Post. “We just don’t want any more expenses. We don’t need it. It’s a brutal retail environment, and now we’re under siege.”
The Post explains some background:
De Blasio was forced to disband the charity in 2016 following a criminal probe into its dealings. He dodged state and federal charges, but investigators found he and his aides had violated the “intent and spirit” of campaign finance law.
A separate city Department of Investigation probe determined the mayor violated ethics rules by taking donations from developers who had business before the city, according to a scathing report released in April.
At a December hearing of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Bass-Wyden testified, “Landmarking our building will only make it that much harder for us to survive and pass our treasured family-owned business to [our] children, and hopefully to theirs.”
She begged, “Please do not destroy the Strand by adding more bureaucracy and unnecessary expenses and restrictions, slowing us down just when we need to be our most impactive.”
But on Tuesday, the commission voted 8-0 to declare it a landmark.
In the Medium post de Blasio links to in his tweet, the chairwoman of the commission insists that she met with the Strand owner to hear the concerns, and that “Our regulatory system is efficient and flexible, and I am confident that designation will not impact plans for the Strand Bookstore.”
Even if one were to take the view that the owner’s fears are unwarranted, however, it’s pretty clear that the landmark designation had absolutely nothing to do with preserving the store for future generations, as de Blasio asserts. At best, his action won’t make things more difficult.
