UPPER WEST SIDE — One local resident is on a mission to launch a book fair in the neighborhood as a way to bring the community together around the importance of reading, as well as highlighting the famous authors living there, he said.
Local resident Gary Shapiro presented the idea to Community Board 7 Tuesday night and said the planning and brainstorming process is still in its infancy.
Currently, local organizations like Goddard Riverside and schools like P.S. 87 host annual book fairs, but there's not one for the entire community.
"No neighborhood has as many local journalists, editors, authors [as the Upper West Side]," he told board members Tuesday. The book fair would feature these writers, who could sign books and host events, he said.
In addition to bringing the neighborhood together, the event would also "underscore the importance of reading," Shapiro said, adding the event should be family-friendly and include a wide range of books.
"It sounds like a great idea," said CB 7 chairwoman Elizabeth Caputo, adding she'd never heard of such an event proposed before. She encouraged Shapiro to connect with the board's Youth, Education and Libraries Committee to keep the brainstorming going.
Shapiro said he doesn't have preferences for whether the fair should be indoors or outdoors, nor a potential place in mind for holding the event.
In the end, the fair "would showcase what’s best about the Upper West Side and mostly it would be a lot of fun," he said.
