“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.” This might well have been the expected SOS sent out by Libros Revolucion, the Revolutionary Communist Party bookstore that is facing eviction from its downtown space. Instead, the store's Web site called on friends to pressure the building's landlord to hold off the eviction (and to lower the store's rent) and to drop by 312 W. Eighth St. immediately and donate money.
“Yesterday,” the site announced, “in the midst of a major battle to spread the word throughout
society about the message and call, The Revolution We Need. . .The
Leadership We Have, Libros Revolución / Revolution Books received a
3-day eviction notice from the landlord – to pay $8,100 by this
Thursday, August 20, or be evicted!”
Libros Revolucion had survived the fall of European communism and
downtown gentrification, but now faced extinction, thanks to a basic
tenant of capitalism: You don't pay your rent, you hit the streets. The
collective running the store claims it has fallen behind in rent
because of slow business and because its operations have been hampered
by fire damage to the building.
The Downtown News quotes the store's landlord as holding out hope and an olive branch.
“We've bent over backwards to try and accommodate them,” Shahram
Afshani said. “If they do what they promise by Friday, we're going to
rescind the eviction.”
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