Help us bring a Worker-Owned Bookstore to Astoria

Hi Astoria! We are No Borders Collective, a worker-owned bookstore and cafe coming soon to the neighborhood. We came together four years ago because of the Queens mutual aid community, sharing books and food with the people through the Astoria Food Pantry and The Rolling Library. We’re longtime Astoria residents; you may also recognize us from working in various local small businesses. We love this community, and we can’t wait to serve you in a new space.

Our vision for No Borders is to create a bookstore for our neighbors inspired by the values of mutual aid, collective liberation, and lifelong education. We will offer mostly used books (via donations) with a small and curated selection of new books focused on titles by authors of color, queer stories, and books about activism, liberation, abolition, and anti-capitalist thought.

No Borders will also be a cafe with plenty of seating where you can enjoy light snacks and beverages (primarily coffee, tea, and other non-alcoholic drinks). We’ll host events such as book launches, author talks, and writing workshops. Our space will be rentable on a sliding scale so activists, mutual aid collectives, and other like-minded groups can safely and comfortably meet and organize.

Our mutual aid values will reflect how we run No Borders: a free store with personal care items available to anyone, no questions asked; a pay-what-you-want model for used books; and selected food/drinks offered on a sliding pay scale. Inspired by the lack of third spaces in Astoria—and especially spaces that don’t require fees—we’ll be a neighborhood spot where people can gather without an expectation to spend money.

We want to be a place where people want to be—where you can find a cozy corner to catch your breath, hold a knitting circle with your friends, get a book recommendation, or sip a drink and watch the neighborhood go by while your dog sleeps under the table. (Please bring your dog!) We’re currently looking for the perfect space, but in the meantime you will be seeing us at pop ups around Astoria.

GoFundMe donations and revenue from our pop ups will go toward the start-up costs for the store, and we will be seeking grants and loans to provide the rest of the funding. We plan to make regular public finance reports to hold ourselves accountable to our values of community support and worker-owned collectives. Send us your questions and thoughts at [email redacted]