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With such great kindness as this, Mr. Kemp will have all homeless
people moved off the face of the Earth !
| “My
concern is the health of the man.” — Mr.
Kemp
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A Madison Avenue antiques dealer is suing a group of unidentified homeless people for $1 million, saying that the group has taken up residence outside his posh Upper East Side business, using the sidewalk in front of the shop as a urinal, spittoon and occasional dressing room, according to court papers and a lawyer for the businessman.
Karl Kemp, owner of Karl Kemp & Associates at 833 Madison Avenue near 69th Street, said he had put up with the crew of vagabonds, one homeless man and his “island” of filthy belongings in particular, for more than two years and that he hoped the suit will force the city’s hand in taking measures to have them removed.
Mr. Kemp said the police have not made the issue a priority and that local merchant and homeless organizations have not budged. More so, he said, the homeless people seem content making their digs out of space uncomfortably close for him and his customers.
The suit notes that Karl Kemp & Associates is located “within the heart of New York’s most exclusive Madison Avenue shopping district,” with neighbors like Gucci, Chanel and Prada.
Mr. Kemp said it was unfair that the individuals, listed in court papers as “John Smith,” “John Doe,” “Bob Doe,” and “Jane Doe,” spent both their days and nights huddled with their filthy belongings at his business, while taxpayers foot the bill for city shelter services.
“My concern is the health of the man,” Mr. Kemp said by phone from his store’s East 10th Street location today. “Sometimes he’s out there in blizzard conditions, and you and I pay taxes in New York City and some of that is to maintain decent shelters. And he should take advantage of that.”
The suit contends that a large percentage of the shop’s business comes from shoppers who admire its wares from a large storefront window that has been maligned by the presence of the homeless people and their lackluster sense of fashion.
“They dress in what appears to be old, worn and unsanitary clothing,” according to the suit, filed in State Supreme Court on Jan. 16.
The squatters “can often be found sleeping on the sidewalk ... consuming alcoholic beverages from open bottles, performing various bodily functions such as urinating and spitting ... verbally harassing or intimidating plaintiff’s patrons and prospective customers.”
Shelly Nortz, an executive with Coalition for the Homeless, said that in her 25 years working as an advocate for the homeless, she has never once heard of an individual suing a homeless person.
“There are scores of organizations outside of the city government who lend assistance to people living in the streets,” Ms. Nortz said. “That’s why I think it’s preposterous. This defies logic to me.”
Ms. Nortz, who was not privy to the particulars of Mr. Kemp’s suit, said that it was likely that Mr. Kemp had grown fed up with asking the homeless individual to leave, but that “it is a free country.”
She added: “Until we see to it that every single homeless individual has a place to stay, this is our reality.”
Allan Schiller, a lawyer for Mr. Kemp, said that his client has tried everything from contacting the police to the local merchant association but that no one wants to take up the cause. Mr. Kemp has even asked the owner of the building in which he leases space to remove or reroute the heating duct outside the building to deter homeless people from seeking its warmth. But nothing has worked, Mr. Schiller said.
While Mr. Kemp referred to one of the homeless men as a “nice guy,” he said it is time for them to part ways.
“It’s nothing against him,” Mr. Kemp said. “I want him to be safe and not to be an obstruction to us.”
source: 18jan2007
About Karl Kemp
When asked about his earliest antique acquisition, Karl Kemp replies, "It was a Biedermeier chair, which I purchased at my mother's suggestion. I was only 20 or 21 years old, but I bought it myself."
Kemp's mother, a woman of great taste and education, was also a fine collector of antiques. From their home in Cologne, Germany, she instilled in him an appreciation for the Neo-Classical decorative arts of the early 19th Century. Her guidance ultimately lead to Kemp to study the finer points of art history and architecture.
Ironically, Mr. Kemp did not immediately pursue his presnt [sic] vocation. his professional goals brought him to New York City in the early 1970's, where he held the position of Chief of Acquisitons [sic] at The Brooklyn Public Library.
Kemp returned frequently to Europe in search of finds in local antique shops and flea markets. Kemp remembers his early "shopping" trips with fondness:
"I can remember when I would receive my purchases from Europe and have nowhere to put them, except stacked up against the walls of my living room and hallway. But friends would come over for visits and offer to buy these things and in a month or two, they would all be gone."
Many family pieces remain with Kemp, tastefully interwoven with his own antique furniture and modern art collection.
source: http://karlkemp.com/aboutkarl.php 18jan2007
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