Read it and weep: Oldest gay NY bookstore to close

Oscar Wilde Bookshop owner Kim Brinster says "tough times" are the reason for the Manhattan store's closing on March 29. She says the city once supported three gay and lesbian bookstores.

In an e-mail message Tuesday, Brinster thanked customers for being part of "a great global community."

She says the Greenwich Village shop was a worldwide destination, with foreign tourists accounting for about two-thirds of its customers.

But she says business has been hurt by the decline in the euro's value and by large chain bookstores and the Internet.