"Peter Pendule, like so many others, came to New York City for the holidays. Unlike most, he arrived here early from near the Canadian border with a single mission in mind this holiday season: sell as many Christmas trees as he can. Although Pendule stayed briefly with an acquaintance in a Chelsea apartment, these days, he spends most of his time at work at Le Chic Shack, his small, makeshift cabin on the sidewalk at the corner of Broadway and 73rd Street."
"Vendors have been hawking Christmas trees on the sidewalks of New York since 1938, when the City Council in defiance of the popular Mayor Fiorello La Guardia passed a law stopping his Christmas tree vending crackdown. La Guardia had ordered that all sidewalk tree vendors get licenses, a costly endeavor that nearly put the temporary trade out of business. The Council was moved to pass legislation, known as the Coniferous Tree Exception, permitting the sale of Christmas trees on sidewalks."
Peter Pendule travels from near the Canadian border to New York each holiday season to sell as many Christmas trees as possible. He operates from Le Chic Shack, a makeshift cabin at Broadway and 73rd Street, sleeps in a vehicle, and keeps a small forest of firs, balsams and spruces for sale. A small network of seasonal sidewalk vendors brings the evergreen scent and sight to city streets each December. Sidewalk tree vending has operated under a 1938 Coniferous Tree Exception enacted after a licensing crackdown nearly ended the trade. Many New Yorkers view these vendors as a key holiday sign.
Read at www.amny.com
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