> Residents of the Bronx are still primarily disadvantaged minorities, many reliant on public services. This is probably true by total population, but not by b

> Residents of the Bronx are still primarily disadvantaged minorities, many reliant on public services. This is probably true by total population, but not by block. That is, on most blocks most people are middle class. That's why there is no shortage of wine and tapas bars or whatever. I think the real reason is that most independent bookstores are subsidized by the surrounding community in order to raise real estate values or add character to the town. In places like NYC these types of businesses often get subsidized by real estate developers who want to raise the rates in their surrounding apartment buildings, but most areas of The Bronx don't have dense enough cores for developers to make money on real estate speculation. Mott Haven and Port Morris are some of the only areas where this actually works, so that's probably why the bookstore is going there rather than where the owner grew up or wherever.