Results tagged “fredbass”

In May word was spreading that the famed Gotham Book Mart would be shutting its doors as the owner, Andreas Brown, was forced to pay overdue rent. At that time, the entire contents of the shop ("from rare first-edition John Updike novels to the worn-out oriental rug on the third floor") were sold for $400K at a court-mandated auction. The Post called it an "undignified last chapter for the institution - beloved by the likes of Edward Gorey, J.D. Salinger and Jackie Kennedy Onassis."

The store was founded by Ben Bass on what was known as Book Row, which at the time housed 48 bookstores. Today it's run by Fred and Nancy Bass. When asked how the business changed over the past 80 years and if people are still as literary as they once were, Fred Bass answered:

Gothamist loves fun facts, but when we hear that yesterday's sweltering weather set new Con Ed records for power usage, we're not sure if we should be proud or slightly nervous of brownouts. The Post says that 12,361 megawatts of electricity were chruned out yesterday, besting its August 9, 2001 record of 12,207. Con Ed says the East 14th Street power station is helping to meet the demand; of course, there have been some problems at that station in the past. With the growth of the city, and explosion of electrical gadgets, Gothamist wonders will Con Ed be able to keep up? At any rate, the best quote about the weather comes from Strand Bookstore owner Fred Bass; Bass bought air conditioning for the store and says, "My employees are smiling for the first time ever."

Nancy Bass, Bookseller