Yesterday I was stopped by Erdem, the fruit and vegetable peddler on 49th Avenue and Vernon Boulevard. He was scared and wanted me to write a story about his situation. As many of you know, one morning last week he was arrested, hauled off to jail, and his fruit stand was basically left idled and exposed with a handwritten sign saying “Closed Until Further Notice.” After spending almost 30 hours in the Queens County Jail, without food, drink, or sleep, he went before a judge who very quickly dismissed him and all the outstanding tickets that led to his arrest. According to Erdem, the tickets were all from 2009 and came in a quick flurry during a period of harassment, possibly by an angered merchant(hint: Dunkin Donuts didn’t come to Vernon until 2011). Infractions included items such as being too close to the crosswalk, and not having his licenses properly displayed.
Fast forward to last week, when after four years of no infractions, which would have disallowed his ability to get aforementioned licenses(renewed in January 2012), Erdem gets taken in. Ever since, he’s been on eggshells, as he doesn’t know if his arrest was due to the law or is something personal, though he surmises the latter. Due to the arbitrariness of his arrest, the unknown duration of another potential jail stint, be it one day, two days, or a week, and the constant fear of losing his livelihood, he is extremely stressed.
Furthermore, he’s frankly embarrassed by his arrest. When you stand in a very visible spot and conduct business with hundreds of people each week, you become part of the fabric of the community. Likewise, the Hunters Point community is very, very important to him, and he feels a very personal attachment.
I don’t know what to do to help Erdem, other than write his story. If anyone else has advice or could lend a hand, please reach out to him, he’d be extremely grateful.
The Editor
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Anonymous says
July 17, 2013 at 8:58 pmThis is horrible and also embarrassing news as an LIC community member. I appreciate your posting this story and I hope others read it and get the word out. I also ask that if you are reading this that you will begin or continue to support our fruit man by stopping by his stand to shop or to simply offer some moral support. We cannot take these loyal, hard working community members for granted. These fixtures are what makes our city stand apart!
Blank says
July 17, 2013 at 11:19 pmErdem spent more time in prison than Zimmerman …but they were both not guilty.
anony mouse says
July 18, 2013 at 9:45 amHa, Dunkin Donuts definitely has no ax to grind with the fruit man. Their products are polar opposites!
Queensie says
July 18, 2013 at 4:29 pmThe sprinkler section at Rainbow Park has been cleared of foliage and a red chair has been placed where the lifeguard sat last year. Looks like it might be open by the weekend.
It's hot out there says
July 18, 2013 at 5:08 pmThe sprinklers are in fact working at Rainbow. There’s a lifeguard there and kids are …sprinkling.
anonymous says
July 18, 2013 at 9:57 pmThat’s funny, just yesterday another LIC blog reported that the sprinklers at Rainbow Park were going to be out for the entire summer!
Anonymous says
July 18, 2013 at 10:51 pmThe police in this neighborhood would do us a huge service if they made some effort to stop the graffiti and destruction in the park rather than arresting law abiding entrepreneurs. Did he not pay them a kickback? Did they go after the easy target to meet some type of quota? Such a joke. Jimmy Van Bramer – help!
S says
July 19, 2013 at 10:29 amAny lawyers reading this? If so, it would be so great if you could help Erdem sort out this situation. He is so loved in our community and I hate seeing him like this.
Glinda says
July 19, 2013 at 11:04 pmBingo! He needs an attorney to help him determine the source of the latest harassment and eradicate the cause.
There are a ton of lawyers in the waterfront buildings. The trick is to find him someone who is willing to do some pro bono work.
Of course there always is trying to enlist Van Bramer who can be very effective. But I have the sense that Van Bramer has to be approached by a … er … more “connected” member of the LIC community.
Anonymous says
July 22, 2013 at 11:27 amThanks for a great article, and for upholding reporters’ duty to expose injustice in our communities!