I’m Adrian Cepeda, born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, across the street from the shop I opened two years ago called The World’s Borough Bookshop.
I opened this up to be a bookstore and now it's a community hub slash bookstore where we amplify specifically BIPOC authors who aren’t usually amplified in the media. I wanted to do this in Queens since it's known as the World’s Borough. It's the most diverse place in all of New York, and quite possibly the world.
I never saw something like this in the community, I think that's what inspired me to do it. Jackson Heights has so many people that you pass by every single day and you don't really know their stories. There wasn't a third place here for us to just go hang out. There wasn't a place to be surrounded by books where you could also have fun.
We do a lot of community events. That's a big part of it–that it's not only about books, it's about the community needs and what they want to do. Without them I wouldn't be here.
I opened the store because Jackson Heights and neighboring Corona and Sunnyside are considered book deserts, areas where people don't have access to actually purchase books. It was important for me to be able to bring these sorts of stories to people's homes because it builds empathy and understanding.
I think it's important for people to have a safe place especially in times like these. When something really bad happens in the world, people come and talk to me about it. Having that third place where you can go and not feel like you need to purchase something, you can just come and hang out, I think that’s what people need the most right now.
I've seen friendships grow out of coming here for an event where people didn't know each other. I've seen films get made because they met the right person for their film here at the shop. It's been really cool seeing those other projects blossom from me opening the store. I'm excited to see what else the community wants to do here. I'm so excited to see it grow.
I opened this up to be a bookstore and now it's a community hub slash bookstore where we amplify specifically BIPOC authors who aren’t usually amplified in the media. I wanted to do this in Queens since it's known as the World’s Borough. It's the most diverse place in all of New York, and quite possibly the world.
I never saw something like this in the community, I think that's what inspired me to do it. Jackson Heights has so many people that you pass by every single day and you don't really know their stories. There wasn't a third place here for us to just go hang out. There wasn't a place to be surrounded by books where you could also have fun.
We do a lot of community events. That's a big part of it–that it's not only about books, it's about the community needs and what they want to do. Without them I wouldn't be here.
I opened the store because Jackson Heights and neighboring Corona and Sunnyside are considered book deserts, areas where people don't have access to actually purchase books. It was important for me to be able to bring these sorts of stories to people's homes because it builds empathy and understanding.
I think it's important for people to have a safe place especially in times like these. When something really bad happens in the world, people come and talk to me about it. Having that third place where you can go and not feel like you need to purchase something, you can just come and hang out, I think that’s what people need the most right now.
I've seen friendships grow out of coming here for an event where people didn't know each other. I've seen films get made because they met the right person for their film here at the shop. It's been really cool seeing those other projects blossom from me opening the store. I'm excited to see what else the community wants to do here. I'm so excited to see it grow.
