After its book bike was stolen earlier this spring, the Nonbinarian Bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y., has replaced the bike with the help of its community, Gay City News reported.
K. Kerimian, the Nonbinarian's founder, discovered the book bike missing on April 2. Kerimian called it a "shock," and given that the distinctive pink cargo bike has the store's name on it on all sides, they couldn't imagine who would take it: "We weren't inclined to jump to the conclusion of it being a hate crime, but by virtue of it being a community service, it's not just tangible--it's what it provides to the community, it's the symbol of solidarity that people took from us."
They turned to the bookstore's community for support, and through a GoFundMe campaign raised more than $6,000. Kerimian contacted the same maker from whom they commissioned the original bike in 2022 and said "basically that we wanted the same thing." The money raised through GoFundMe covered the cost of the bike as well as some insurance.
"So many people responded to the loss of the bike and you could see how much the bike meant to other people and to people who donated to us," Kerimian told Gay City News. "While I can't say I'm glad this happened, I'm really humbled by the community response."
Kerimian hopes the new bike will arrive before the start of Pride. They launched the Nonbinarian in 2022 before opening a bricks-and-mortar location at 1130 President St. in 2024.