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A worker-owned LGBTQ bookstore

By Carl Tsegah

The air is crisp as Merlin Sabal opens the door to the BlueStockings Cooperative Bookstore. The morning sun illuminates a flag near the entrance whose rainbow colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, signifying the LGBTQ community.

Sabal, 28, has spent the last four years as one of the owners who double as workers at  Bluestockings Cooperative Bookstore. The job doesn’t pay a lot of money but it provides plenty of motivation to come to work every day. 

“It’s valuable to walk into a shop and have your life experiences reflected back on the shelves,” Sabal said. “It’s great to know that there’s a place where it’s safe and people can meet others like them.” 

Bluestockings’ website touts the establishment as New York City’s only bookstore owned and operated by queer and trans people and sex workers. “All worker-owners come directly from the communities we serve most frequently,” Sabal said. “Meaning we are best able to bring needs and concerns into our solidarity work and day-to-day operational work.”

Bluestockings aims to be a safe haven for both workers and customers. “This is why we’ve chosen to formalize our two decade-plus, collectively run volunteer formation into a worker-owned cooperative,”’ Sabal said while pouring hot coffee for customers in the bookstore’s cafe. 

Graffiti covers the interior walls of Bluestockings. So does the signature artwork of Keith Haring. 

Staring at a sketch of a female with orange hair, alongside the words “Be Gay … Do Crime,” Merlin started to ponder out loud: “What drew me here was the fact that I don’t have to pretend or lie about my identity. Since I started coming here, I felt that I could be myself more. I hope that our customers also feel that way.”

Al Lazaro, 25, said one of the goals of the bookstore is “to distribute literature and resources about oppression, intersectionality, community organizing, and activism, and by sharing the stories of marginalized people.” 

Surrounding him, as he speaks, are more flags. A pink, white and purple one represents the lesbian community. A flag of blue and purple represents the bisexual community. 

“There are many people who come here,” Lazaro said. “There are regulars who come here daily or weekly, and also tourists. I feel that this is one of New York City’s tourist attractions because the people who come are looking for a place where they can feel safety and comfort.” 

Bluestockings is a niche bookstore and that’s important, said author Carol Mackey, senior acquisitions editor at Recorded Books. 

“The purpose of these niche bookstores is to have books that are tailored to specific groups,” said Mackey, who previously was senior director and editorial lead for Black Expressions Book Club, a nationwide endeavor. “These books in turn help to create unison and form communities.”