Dan Rimada, who started the Bodega Cats of New York project in 2022, is launching the book that came out of it at POWERHOUSE Arena in DUMBO on Friday, Nov. 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. Bodega Cats of New York: Portraits and Stories from New York City's Working Cats profiles 60 shop cats from all five boroughs in about 150 photographs, along with the families who run the stores they live in.

What is in the book

Rimada and the photographer Gulce Kilkis spent four years building relationships with corner store owners across the city to make the book, according to the publisher. Each cat gets a short story and portraits. The book also covers the informal networks of neighbors and regulars who keep the cats fed and healthy, the cats' personalities and the corners of the store each one claims, and how the animals became part of the owners' families. Many of the stores are run by immigrant families, and the book treats them as neighborhood anchors as much as places to buy a coffee and a sandwich.

The book is a hardcover from Epic Ink, an imprint of the Quarto Group, with a list price of $30.

Where the project started

Rimada founded Bodega Cats of New York in 2022. The publisher bills the book as the first to document these cats, several of which already have followings of their own on social media.

The details

  • When: Friday, Nov. 6, 7 to 9 p.m.
  • Where: POWERHOUSE Arena, 28 Adams Street, at the corner of Water Street across from the Manhattan Bridge Archway.
  • Tickets: through the link on POWERHOUSE Arena's event page. The event is also on the DUMBO business improvement district's calendar.

POWERHOUSE Arena is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The store's number is 718-666-3049.

Getting there

Take the F to York Street or the A or C to High Street.

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