By Gus Saltonstall
If you walked by Yusuf on Tuesday morning at his fruit and vegetable stand on West 97th Street and Broadway, you’d have no idea that one day before a fire ripped through his entire operation.
“Everybody’s okay, nobody was hurt,” Yusuf, who did not provide his last name, told West Rag on Tuesday, while adding that the flames were caused after a new space heater that he had only gotten on Monday ignited on the plastic tarp he had been using in the last few weeks to protect against the cold.
All in all, he said that he lost around $7,000 of produce in the flames, along with the table used to display the fruits and vegetables.
But on Tuesday morning, Yusuf was restocked and back selling his avocados, blueberries, broccoli, grapes, oranges, tomatoes, and other goods.
“We love this spot,” Yusuf said about the Upper West Side corner where he or other members of his family have been selling produce for the last 17 years. “We come out every day, no matter the cold. I didn’t want to miss a single day.”
The fruit and vegetable stand is open 24 hours a day.
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Does he have a license? Does he pay any fees? Where does he get his fruit from?
Steve: Are you a bot? Wait…don’t answer that. lol.
The fruit and veg vendors are all licensed. They pay taxes like any other employee or business owner. The produce probably is from Hunts Point Market – likely it’s produce that is too ripe for the supermarkets to buy, which is why it is cheaper and usually better than supermarket produce.
If you don’t like the vendors, don’t buy from them. Don’t imply that they have no right to be there. They provide great produce at a good price and lots of us are delighted that we can support them.
A good number of the food trucks and vendors have “self-created” copies of the needed permits, inspections etc as the fines are almost nothing and rarely enforced
Those are legit questions. Do they pay taxes and fees?is he a licensed vendor? We should support people who haves stores and follow labor laws. Buying potentially stolen merchandise from cart on the sidewalk is 4th world behavior. What are his opinions on LGBT, women’s rights etc.
Oh I don”t find it to ever be over ripe, it is identical in package and quality from my local stores..much better that T Joe’s produce ever is. But now reading this I hope that others consider a fire extinguisher, hindsight is always 20/20. These fruit vendors are a gem
and they work incredibly hard; they’re a real boon to the neighborhood and do help you keep your food costs down. Bravo to this man!
I’d say predominantly from the ground, trees, bushes, and vines.
What’s your problem?
99.9% certain he gets his fruit from the Hunts Point Produce in the Bronx, just like Gristedes, Key Food, etc. The only difference is that the outdoor vendors choose the ripe, ready-to-eat fruit that the wholesalers can’t sell to supermarkets. So they can negotiate a lower price and sell it for less. The wholesaler wins. The vendor wins. The customer wins.
they also don’t pay property tax
Are you trying to get into the fruit business? Why do you care?
So it’s Ok to compete against legitimate grocery and food stores in the area? I hope someone opens a street business right in front of your door and see what you say.
This man is also running a legitimate business and yes it is okay to open competing businesses in the land of capitalism.
Whatever he’s doing or not doing, I blame Biden.
Actually, it’s all Hillary’s fault.
Haa. Haa. Haa.
LOL
lol 😆
Another upper west sider looking for yet another excuse to call the waaaaaambulance. Let the guy earn a living.
I am not suggesting that you, personally are guilty of anything, but your comment makes me wonder how many people defend their local fruit stand or other vendor (including saying, “let him earn a living”), yet are screaming about the City’s plan to add thousands of new vendor licenses so that vendors who have thus far been vending illegally (and thus getting constant fines) will now have a permit. The cognitive dissonance is stunning.
I am sure he does all those things. Go away
Sure, Steve, the guy and hus family have been operating there openly for 17 years but don’t have a license/ legal right to be there. You think in the current environment if he weren’t legally allowed to be there, the police wouldn’t have swooped down on him and shipped him off to the gulag? If you’re worried about the origin of your fruit then go to Whole Foods and pay the premium. A lot of people don’t care if the price is right.
There are literally thousands of vendors in NY who don’t have legal rights to be in any given location. The City Council only recently voted to expand permit offerings to people who have been breaking the laws for decades.
It’s like the people who used to sell books on Broadway from 73rd to 74th. They were there for YEARS without permits until there was a concerted push to get them out.
Oh dear, perhaps one can understand being against fruit and veggies, but are you really against BOOKS? As a regular book buyer, I happen to know that selling books & other printed material is a first amendment right. I just googled it and according to streetvender.org, “Under the First Amendment, people who sell newspapers, magazines, cd’s, books and art on the street may do so without a vending license.” (However, it does go on to say that there still are restrictions on exactly where you can put your table, etc.)
Quite true, Barbara, no license is required, this being (still? sort of?) America. The restrictions involve such factors as distance from the curb or fire hydrants, number/size of tables, impeding pedestrians, and so on — all pretty reasonable. I have it good authority that ignorance (real or feigned) of the relevant statues is fairly widespread among the NYPD. Even so, some of the vendors along 72nd–73rd & Broadway, home to largest concentration, were, alas, regularly in violation; the size of Kirk Davidson’s sidewalk book inventory in particular almost guaranteed trouble, and indeed it visited him repeatedly.
I myself prefer vast sprawls of books to the sterility of the gentrifiers.
Why would you want to get rid of people selling used books on Broadway? I love the book vendors! And I happily pass on books to them after I’ve read them, so they can make a bit of money selling them to other readers. What harm are they doing?
Why indeed! Literacy has always been among the greatest threats to authoritarianism and those in its thrall.
I will become a steady customer of this brave man. Good for him!
Closer to 96th Street. Some people have commented about the smell from the generator. But I am customer of his and his fruits are quite good, and he will tell you what is reduced for a quick sale
The day before the fire, partner asked me to pick up some bananas. I had 3, he asked if I would take 4 so it would be $1 I said fine. He handed me the bananas, said, “thank you very much and have a nice day” Nice guy, glad he is back. .
Bravo, brave Yusuf! I am a very satisfied customer of your stand–great fruit and vegetables at great prices! Thank you.
I’m a very very steady customer and have admired his dedication to his job in heat and cold, night and day, everyday. I am so sorry about the loss.
Mr. Yusuf has the kind of spirit, grit, modesty and… probably every positive and desirable character trait one can think of. Although I always go to the market to buy produce, I’m so happy to read about his resiliency. In spite of what he’s been through, I bet he still smiles and is courteous to everyone. Good luck, Mr. Yusuf! You’re an inspiration to humanity!
Wishing all the best to Yusuf. It can’t be easy sitting outside in the frigid temperatures. When my grandpa was a kid in hells kitchen, he worked for a man who had a fruit street cart, and told me how he’d go pick up the fruit from the wholesalers. I wonder if it’s still the same place. Is there a gofundme to help Yusuf out from the losses of the fire?
Yusuf is the best.
Yusuf and his fruit/veggie stand have been a constant and a life-saver. I’ve decided that I will just overpay him a little bit each time I go, to help him recoup SOMETHING. And yes, his stuff is generally as good or better than the stores, and I never pass up the chance to take home something from his stand!!! We’re lucky NOT to have to go more than maybe a tiny bit out of our way after exiting the subway to buy his produce.
He’s gotta sell an awful lots of tomatoes to be able to completely set up his stand again one day later.
After being a customer for 17 years, I’d imagine he has credit with the wholesalers. But yes, it’s going to take time (and better weather) and a lot of loyal customers to make up for the losses.