9. Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (126 Crosby St.)
After a COVID-19-induced closure, the cafe section of the Housing Works Bookstore is currently open, so customers can still wander around the bookstore to purchase books donated by New York city residents with a coffee in hand. All business proceeds are donated to Housing Works, so they can continue their services, such as housing, health care response, and legal work.
Along with many events focused on activism at the Housing Works Bookstore, such as A Feast for the Books, an event that celebrates chefs in the bookstore atmosphere, there are also author events. Whether this event is a book release or a celebration of an influential author, customers can enjoy the presence of authors and other book lovers while sipping on the cafe’s tea, coffee, juice, soda, or seltzer. In the past, Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez discussed the release of their book Legendary Children, along with other authors. At the height of the pre-COVID era, the Housing Works Bookstore could hold 200 standing guests at events.
Next, check out NYC’s Hidden Coffee Shops and Inside Porto Rico Importing Co., One of NYC’s Oldest Coffee Stores