My View Around the Village

By Roger Paradiso

The Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books Bookmobile

What do you do when you are thrown out of your shop because of high rents? If you are Jim Drougas of Unoppressve Non-Imperialist Bargain Books you buy and stock a bookmobile. After a few years of thinking how he could operate as a book seller in the Village, Jim came up with this mobile version of his former brick and mortar bookstore on Carmine Street in the West Village. With spring’s arrival Jim is back selling his classic books and bargain books from a mobile store. He plans to travel around the Village and other parts unknown. Stay tuned for his mobile store’s hours and locations.

---

Record Store Day is April 18

Celebrate this special day as labels release new LPs. I asked Jamal, owner of Village Revival Records on Bleecker Street, to keep an eye out for the Cream Farewell Concert coming out on DVD/CD. There was a pause. He replied, “You mean the Clapton, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce band?” “Yes,” I said. “I guess it was over 50 years ago. Am I aging myself?” He said he would hold it for me when it comes in.

The store also sells surprise boxes of LPs for 30 bucks. You get ten LPs. The sealed box is full of mark-downs of their curated vault of records from the classics to today’s artists. Jamal even brought in a gold couch so that his customers will feel relaxed and comfy on this day and throughout the year.

---

NYU Professors Win Big Raises as Part of Tentative Deal to End Strike

Here in New York, unionized professors at NYU have ended a strike after reaching a tentative contract with their university. Nearly 1,000 full-time faculty members launched the two-day work stoppage demanding higher wages, job stability and relief from heavy workloads. If they ratify the five-year deal, they’ll receive an average raise of 20% this year. The contract also includes new guardrails for academic freedom and the use of artificial intelligence.

—as reported in Democracy Now.