After 44 years in business, the Book Revue in Huntington, N.Y., will close by the end of September, Newsday reported. The new and used bookstore is being evicted due to unpaid rent, with Book Revue's landlord saying that owner Richard Klein owes more than $420,000.
Klein told News 12 The Bronx that prior to the pandemic, the store was always able to make rent on time, but "we were forced to close, mandated by law to close and even when we were able to open, store traffic was down." He added that he reached out to his landlord repeatedly to try to come up with some sort of payment plan, but was refused.
Emerson Dobs III, principal with the building owner, said the solutions Klein proposed were "non-starters," because they did not involve paying the back rent. He said it was sad for both the bookstore and the town of Huntington that Book Revue will close on these terms.
The building is up for sale, and Book Revue has until September 30 to vacate.