Secondhand Splendor at the Annual West 104th Street Yard Sale

By Tracy Zwick

Hundreds of neighbors gathered at the 35th annual West 104th Street Yard Sale on Saturday for seven hours of shopping and shmoozing. On a 78-degree day filled with more sun than clouds, a record 73 vendors lined the block between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. They offered everything from Chanel pumps and a leather trench coat, to a “Jamaica me Happy” tourist tee and a red Galanz mini-fridge, to books and electronics, Sferra linens, vintage clothing, and jewelry.

Most items were under $10.

There was also a silent auction including offerings ranging from gift certificates to local restaurants, like V&T and Fumo, to private walking tours of New York with the Upper West Side’s own Gary Dennis, and $500 in veterinary services from Animal Medical Center. For items like a $100 credit at Jack’s Art Gallery, bidding began at $40 and went up in $10 increments till reaching face value. 

Larry Stern, a member of the 104th Street Block Association – the group behind this beloved annual event – was tasked with gathering gift certificates for the auction. Stern, who’s lived in the area with his husband for 11 years, reflected: “I had no idea I was interested in community at all when I moved here, until I got involved with the block association. Now I can’t walk down the block without saying hello to two people.”  

Hanna Rubin, another block association member, led the effort to get art and other objects donated for the silent auction. She said the group had “an exceptional year,” pointing to an unused “Starry Night” Lego set from MoMA on sale for $20. “Amazon has it for $150!” she gushed.

An UWSer named Kaitlin, from West 106th Street, was there with her 4-year-old daughter, who happily hauled home a game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos. The pre-kindergartner had emptied her sparkly toy purse of the $5 she’d been collecting and dropped it all on the gobbly game. “I want to go home,” she announced, after the splurge. 

Longtime UWSer Marla Chafetz and her partner, Mel, were “trying to get rid of stuff,” Marla explained. “I emptied my mother’s closet,” she said, pointing out the LeSportsac and Longchamp bags she’d found and was now offering for sale. Front-and-center was a pair of branded overalls recognizable from Ocean Spray commercials. They were scooped up fast, for $20, by a buyer from West 105th Street named Alex. “I’m gonna use them for Halloween!” Alex announced to the friend she was shopping with: “You’ll be the cranberry.” 

Community businesses and nonprofit booths dotted the landscape of local vendors, including Bloomingdale Aging in Place; Hydration for All, a campaign to get 500 new and refurbished water fountains added to NYC parks; and Boomernology IT Support for Older Adults. Boomernology offers in-home IT services for Boomers and other seniors, and, as Dave Kolesnikow, who manned the table, explained, “we have tons of clients in this neighborhood.” 

Decluttering was a theme among the sellers. “I’ve done this every year,” said Lisa Berger, as she closed the deal on a $3 glass pitcher. Berger was also offering an MZ Wallace bag along with clothing and household items. “It’s a pleasant way to spend a Saturday and I get rid of a lot of stuff,” she said. 

On the other end of the exchange were bargain hunters like local sculptor Marsha Powell, who bought a pair of rugs for $20. “I try not to miss this event,” said Powell, who lives on the UWS but also has a home upstate. “I buy things for here, there, everywhere,” she explained. “I really should be selling stuff, but I can’t resist rugs.” 

A shopper named Ulton had come for the bake sale. He enjoyed the apple pie at last year’s event so much that he brought two friends this time around. Another pair of shoppers, Michelle and Keely, were buying vintage aprons for $5 and enjoying the jazz stylings of David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band. 

A little later in the day, just before the 4 p.m. raffle drawing in which one winner would score a jackpot of around $3,000, another musical act, Shailah and the Shaylettes had taken the stage. As listeners swayed to Shailah’s Motown sound, the singer summed up the afternoon: “The weather’s good. The bargains are good. The raffle money’s good, and I don’t know about you, but I feel good!” 

Local Assemblymember Micah Lasher was on hand, too, and mentioned his personal connection to the event. “I come here most years,” said Lasher, who grew up in the neighborhood. “And after my dad passed a few years ago, my sister, my mom and I excavated about 50 years of books and donated them to the sale.” (The block association sells all donated books, with proceeds going to support the nonprofit.) “It’s a wonderful event and a wonderful tradition,” he said of the yard sale. 

A group of three UWS friends who were making their way up and down West 104th Street showed off the bargains they’d landed. One of them, Morgan, had purchased an original matted artwork for $20. “I didn’t haggle,” she said, “because I liked the artist’s story. He’s lived on the UWS all his life, and on his lunch break as a substitute teacher, he made art.” Morgan’s friend Francesca had found a small oval-shaped brass frame, in which she planned to mount a picture of her cat, Maximus. Their third Musketeer, Karis, held a small ceramic mug and plate. “My aunt used to have pottery like this when I lived with her in Oklahoma during college,” she explained. “It feels like a family moment.”

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