RIP Joe Ades
His was a particular kind of street theater in a city that delights in in-your-face characters who are, and are not, what they seem. For he was the sidewalk pitchman with the Upper East Side apartment. The sidewalk pitchman who was a regular at expensive East Side restaurants, where no one believed his answer to the “So what do you do?” question: “I sell potato peelers on the street.” Mr. Ades (pronounced AH-dess) died on Sunday at 75, said his daughter, Ruth Ades Laurent of Manhattan
When I first moved to NYC I saw Mr. Ades on 86th and 3rd. I remember having this just-moved-to-new-york-city-and-my-new-city-is-so-cool smirk on my face when I saw him. He was selling the hell out of carrot peelers. Since that moment I have seen Mr. Ades no fewer than a bunch of times all over manhattan. He truly had a presence and drew crowds easily. Most recently I saw him this fall in his usual union square perch, lively as ever. It was then I realized that more than just this city, Joe Ades was what was cool - I instantly had a different kind of smirk on my face.
I had no idea he was sick, but then again, why would I? An extremely public person that nobody knew. Read this article for more on the life of Joe Ades
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