Williamsburg bookstore turns new page thanks to online fundraiser

Black Spring Books in Williamsburg is turning a new page after a severe storm this summer destroyed about a thousand books. A lot of these books are rare. They're out of print. They're hard to find. That's just like a loss that you can't really recover. Simona Blatt owns the bookstore and says she was able to save some boxes of books, but the flooding caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Knowing I had lost all of this stock. I didn't really know what I was going to do. Her friend Nicole started a GoFundMe, raising nearly $25,000. I was like, oh my god, like what? Like that's crazy. News 12 was invited to the shop today as GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan took a tour. It's great to be able to see that they can recover and that really the community is so behind her in what she's doing. It's not just a bookshop. It's a place where people come together, build community, share stories. It really matters. Simona admits she's still struggling to pay her rent and keep the store open after five years. But the online fundraiser is helping to keep the place running a little while longer. It's a lifeline. In Williamsburg, Tim Harkman, News 12.