Peeler Man of Court Street Dies

By on February 3, 2009 12:31 pm in Brooklyn Heights
Flickr photo by simplytaty

Flickr photo by simplytaty

Joe Ades, the carrot peeler salesman who could be found many a day on Court Street, has died.   The New York Times has an obituary today.

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  • spm

    I am sad to hear this – I’ve been seeing him near my office on Fifth Avenue – he was around the mid-40’s near Best Buy/Circuit City and there would be tons of tourists around him, taking photos. I regret to say I never bought a peeler…

  • bornhere

    We’re all so possessive. For me, he was The Peeler Man (but “of Union Square”). He was certainly an icon.

  • http://clarkdarlene@yahoo.com nazimova

    I remember this guy in Manhattan years ago selling kids books.
    Sad to hear it ..you would see him around Midtown east side west side funny thing I never knew he frequented Court St.

  • my2cents

    I am so sad to hear about his passing. He was a real part of NY street life. I feel like people like him made the city seem somehow like a small town. So many people knew about him, and most of them loved to watch his masterly salesmanship – many bought his peelers. For all those like me who are sad that they’d never hear his old world sales pitch again, search for Joe Ades on youtube and there are some great videos of him doing what he was best at.

  • CJP

    Got me thinking is New York City about places or people? Obviously both. But here’s a guy whose name I never knew, and whose back story I wasn’t aware of. Clearly though he’s an example of why we love New York. It’s the characters, isn’t it?

    I’m going to miss that guy. I often stopped to watch him work wondering after such a great performance how many of those peelers will he really sell and who’s the shill that will inevitably jump up and buy the first (if there was one, I never saw one.)

    He was captivating and gentle and for all the characters in New York City he’s one we’ll be talking about for a while. Or maybe we won’t. But I always made it a point to take a break from my routine and recognize pure sales talent and entertainment when I saw it.

    Hope St. Peter decides he needs one…

  • No One Of Consequence

    Anybody every buy one of these? How can I get one now?

  • my2cents

    I think you can get them on line. Everyone I know who bought one was happy with it. They really do work. Like Joe said:
    “nothing made in Switzerland is cheap” I love that line. They should put up a statue of him in Union Square on his corner. I never saw him on court street. Never knew he had graced our borough with his genteel presence!

  • Bee Heights

    I bought one on Court Street a few years back and it works like a charm! Good little product!