New York Press :: Booked
By Paul Berger
Kirk Davidson estimates that police confiscated between 2000 and 3000 of his books. For 20 years, Davidson has traded in front of the Chase Manhattan Bank on the corner of 73rd St. and Broadway. To some Upper West Siders, he is a regular, friendly face and a source of rare, unusual and inexpensive books. To others, he’s a menace: His book stall takes up too much space, he leaves his books beneath a tarpaulin overnight and he intimidates residents who oppose him.
On any day there can be up to five tables along the block, manned by different booksellers. They are peppered with 1960s editions of Life, sketches of the Upper West Side, illustrated guides to opera and architecture, vintage New York theater programs and hundreds if not thousands of works of fiction. Since the confiscation of Davidson’s stock, his stall has shrunk to one table, but balanced on a crate beneath his gloves were two books: Legal Ethics and Law of Torts. Davidson is fighting back.
“In years past I have stopped there and bought stuff from him,” says Sam Katz, president of the 20th Precinct Community Council. “But he has been in egregious violation of the rules for a long, long time. He takes up the whole block, he harasses people. If he was like every other book vendor and obeyed the rules, it would be fine.”
Quality of life is an important issue in the Upper West Side, where last year there was just one murder. It is also the perfect spot for the booksellers who collect discarded literature left out for recycling and put it up for sale the following day. Some residents bring books directly to the vendors.
Although booksellers are protected under the First Amendment, they are subject to city vending codes. Tables must be no more than eight feet long by three feet wide, vendors are not allowed to sit on chairs and merchandise left overnight is regarded as abandoned property.
This is not Davidson’s first experience with the law. In 2003, officers removed hundreds of books, seven tables, a chair and tarpaulins. He’s also been cited for illegal use of a garden chair.
John Jeannopoulos, a customer for 20 years, said many vendors bent the rules, but what was permissible in some neighborhoods might not be acceptable on the Upper West Side.
“It’s a shame because the book vendors capture what was probably a little bit of old New York,” he said. “Twenty years in the same place is probably longer than most people have leases. Even stores don’t last that long anymore.”
