Beware the Fruit man on President and 7th

I have witnessed the fruit man being a bully too. I refuse to buy anything from such a jerk. I think that brute forces his "intellectually challenged" assistant to sleep in the truck that is always parked on Seventh Avenue and President Street.

is this anthony? the same guy who's been there forever?

i've never witnessed any physical abuse, but i have wondered if the "disabled" guy lives in that truck.

The Mayor's Office for Persons with disabilities. (MOPD)


100 Gold Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
Tel (212) 788-2830
Fax (212) 341-9843
TTY (212) 788-2838

They should be able to take complaints, then farm them out to the appropriate investigatory bodies. ie, Police, District attorney, etc.

Hope this helps.

chrisz wrote: I do believe the assistant is disabled. I live on President Street bet 7th and 6th and have seen and spoken with him. He seems to have a handicap of some sort.


I have wondered why that truck is always there, and have often times seen his produce on display in the middle of the night.

I would imagine there are several ways to address the situation.

1) Don't shop there.
2) Ask to see his vendor's licence. I don't think he has one.
3) Call 311 to notify the NYPD's Traffic enforcement division as vehicles are limited to one hour parking at the meter and commercial overnight parking is forbidden in residential areas.
3a) Call 311 to report the unlawful vending without a license, if in fact there isn't one.
4) a call social services to generate an abuse investigation.
5) Notify the police (911) when the abuse/assault is in progress, and wait to speak to them. Most victims of abuse will not finger the abuser when confronted by the police, while the abuser is present.

I believe the owner takes advantage of the park slope residents by having the disabled fellow sell his goods, thinking he is the owner. He is a sweet guy and you can"t help but feel bad for him. More so now that it has come to light that he may be getting abused in the process.

Agreed. Thanks for the suggestions.

The original fruit guy, who's had the truck for many years, is Andy. Andy is a sweetheart. He had a stroke more than a year ago, and since then his nephew has been running the fruit stand for him. I always assumed the nephew was the guy who has a speech impediment and has what looks (possibly) like a cleft palate, since he's the one who's there all the time. But perhaps the nephew is the one who's the bully? I haven't seen this other guy you're talking about, but I know that it couldn't be Andy.

He is Andy's nephew

farmers' market or coop.

i'm be very surprised if any of the street fruit stands are selling much local produce.

NYkittyNY wrote: [quote=WT66]i just moved here from Philly and first saw this fruit guy about two weeks ago. i got excited because i thought maybe i'd be able to get (hopefully local) fresh fruit and veggies in the neighborhood for decent prices, like i used to in Philly, and that i'd be supporting some local business.
i found the larger man to be incredibly rude. he got angry with me also when i tried to pick out my own strawberries. most of the packages had mold growing in them already!! i wasn't just going to take one without checking, of course.
in addition, when he took my carrots from me to bag them, he dropped one on the ground, picked it up, and put it in the bag and sold it to me. i'm not sure why i didn't say anything, but i think i was in a bit of disbelief that someone would sell a customer food that they'd dropped on the street right in front of them.
ALSO, when i got home, i noticed that all of my carrots had strawberry juice all over them and the plastic bag holding what i bought had leaked inside my bag. when i took everything out, i realized he'd put my produce inside a bag that contained old, rotten strawberries lying loose. i'm not sure if it was a trash bag or something else, but it was pretty disgusting.
as a final note, after washing the strawberries and storing them in a berry bowl in the fridge, they grew mold after about 3 days.
disgusting.

is there ANYWHERE to get really fresh, local produce that's cheap and lasts?

Of course your berries got moldy after 3 days. You never wash berries until you want to actually eat them. 3 day old wet berries will always get moldy, no matter how fresh they are.
True, but that is irrelevant/besides the point. The new fruit guy is a jerk. I had a similar experience with him not letting me pick out my own fruit. I stopped buying anything from him.

Key food's produce is always rotten.

The best produce I got within the last few months is from Natural Land on Flatbush Ave. near the Q subway station, Rossman's on 3rd Ave. and 26th Street, Fairway in Redhook, and Trader Joe's in Manhattan on East 14th Street. There's a small market on 7th Avenue near Carroll Street (across the street from Key Food and Back to the Land) that is not bad.

Of course, all of the above probably get their spinach from China and strawberries from Mexico.

Your best bet, when it comes to reasonably priced, FRESH produce that is grown in the region, is the Union Square Farmer's Market. Take the Q train to Manhattan. The Union Square Farmer's Market's selection and prices are FAR BETTER than the small, pricey market at Grand Army Plaza.

How does he permently park there and avoid tickets?

Subject: Mike the fruitman

I've been to this guy before... his fruit is some of the best in the area, reasonable prices... he asked me to let him assist me in handling the fruit as well. I simply took it as him being helpful & concerned for his produce... not that 'he wouldn't let me touch' his fruit.

I also have spoken to his assistant Brian... definitely not intellectually challenged, maybe a slight lisp...

two positive posts by people who joined today? Hmmmmmm....

parkslopeuser wrote: ..., while some of you may have witnessed the culmination of the event, not one of you saw what transpired before that.

So, um, did you see what transpired before that? Does that mean that you were there? Because you could refute all the speculation if that were the case, perhaps clear the fruit man's name.

Let me rant and let me ramble...

:clown: so I'm caught!! I admit it... I did join the board yesterday just to help save the Fruit Man's name (which happens to be Mike... just in case you'd like to scream it at him as you pass his stand and spitefully not buy his fruit).

despite my deception... I stand by what I previously wrote!! Mike has good fruit @ decent prices. Yes, he curses. But, he's a sweet man... maybe you caught him on a bad day? I've grown to know both him & Brian very well. Theirs is a love/hate relationship... as much as they argue, they also work very well together, which is why their business is as successful as it is... open for over 20 years.

I'm inclined to assume what was witnessed that infamous morning was an argument and not such a one-sided bullying as has been implied. Mike and Brian argue, loudly!! Before you go running to the 'authorities'...

Maybe try this... next time you pass, talk to Brian, ask him about it... instead of pitying him and trying to rescue him like somekind of mindless creature. Brian is perfectly capable of making decisions and defending himself... if he needed help...he'd ask for it. He's not a child. He's not metally disabled. Assuming he needs YOU to give him a voice is more of a bullying mentality towards him than any way I've ever seen Mike/Brian interact.

Go save the whales or something if you're searching for a cause.

I'm sorry if that turned offensive... I'm aggrevated so I'll stop here.

On a side note... about Mike not 'letting' you touch his fruit. Shoppers can flip through Mike's fruit like its a clearance rack in a department store... damaging his fruit and disheveling his display. I can't say if he did it rudely or not, because I wasn't there... but think back and consider perhaps you were being rude and inconsiderate in your manner of handling the fruit?

So concludes my cause.

SAVE THE FRUIT MAN!!