BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | In an update on Jerry Delakas’s struggle to regain his Astor Place newsstand, the longtime vendor’s attorney, Arthur Schwartz, told The Villager on Saturday that discussions have recently ratcheted up to a whole new level.
In the waning days of Mayor Bloomberg’s administration, in November, Delakas’s kiosk was suddenly padlocked by the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs. D.C.A. charged that he technically didn’t hold a proper license to operate it. However, Delakas, 64, has been running the stand for more than a quarter century.
But on Saturday, Schwartz reported that “intense negotiations” have been going on regarding the stand. D.C.A., First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris and the city’s Law Department have all been involved in the discussions, he said.
Schwartz — who was also recently elected the Village’s district leader — said he was not at liberty to comment further.
Mayor de Blasio is reportedly sympathetic to the popular Astor Place vendor’s plight. He is said to have publicly expressed his support for Delakas when the vendor recently came to greet him at a “people’s open house” at Gracie Mansion.
In a statement last week, Phil Walzak, de Blasio’s press secretary, said, “We are working to reach a better outcome.”
Stay tuned… .
