A week after the going out of business sign went up at Westsider Rare and Used Books, it has come down, thanks in part to longtime customer Bobby Panza, who felt he had to do something. 

Panza loves the energy of this shop and says it's his little cousin Ben's favorite place. Ben lives in the neighborhood and comes in with his family a couple times a week picking up books and vinyl.

Co-owner Dorian Thornley had told the website The West Side Rag that the only chance of survival would be if someone raised $50,000. So Panza created a GoFundMe page to see what would happen.

Within the first 12, hours they got a $10,000 donation from Sally Klingenstein Martelll, another longtime customer. Additional donations followed. More than 800 people pitched in to save a neighborhood institution.

Sally says people really need bookstores because they provide a lot for the community. She says it's a place where you can stumble upon an idea that you didn't necessarily expect and meet people who are like minded.

Thornley is forever grateful. He says he hadn't realized how much affection there is for their store and it's both gratifying and humbling.

Thornley has co-owned the store, on Broadway between 80th and 81st streets, for 17 years. He says sales dropped in the first half of last year, creating debts. The $50,000 will go a long way toward resolving them. Thornley says the business has rebounded.

Customers like Timothy Booth are relieved. Booth says the Westsider always has what he's looking for and it's always nice to see something that you're not looking for, go home, read it and find you enjoy it even more than the book you came in looking for.

Thornley says the plan now is to buy a lot more books because a lot of books were sold when people thought the store was closing. Now that it's staying open, Thornley says there is a party to plan for all of those who helped save it.