Yesterday, the disheartening news came down that Cooper Union has decided NOT to grant St. Mark's Bookshop's request for a rent reduction. Friends of the Bookshop, like the Cooper Square Committee, said they would find other ways to support the store should it be forced out of business, and today, the first of those efforts arises: another petition, albeit a slightly preemptive one.

Jeremiah's Vanishing New York is spearheading the "Say No Back To Cooper" campaign, with a petition that declares:

If St. Mark's Bookshop is forced to close due to Cooper Union's high rent, we will boycott any business that moves into its space at 31 Third Avenue in New York City.

Landlord Cooper Union has refused to lower St. Mark's Bookshop's $20,000 rent. The shop owners report that the school said they'd like to rent the space to a business that can pay $40,000. Who can afford that? A bank or a luxury boutique can. We have enough of those! Let Cooper Union and any interested future tenant know that whoever moves into the space at 31 Third Avenue, New York, NY, will be picketed and boycotted. They will not succeed in the East Village.

Yesterday, Bookshop owner Bob Contant told us that the store is not in "imminent danger" of closing, thanks to strong sales over the past two months as the community has rallied around the store. In a slightly confusing twist, the East Village Local reported yesterday that Cooper Union had NOT made an official decision over the rent—we've requested clarification from CU and will update as soon as possible.

Should Jeremiah's call to boycott over a hypothetical possibility come off as a bit extreme for your tastes, at the very least, heed his closing call to action: "And, yes, of course—go buy some books while you're at it."