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Harry Piskin's laundry looted
Instead, after the shot at the window, Piskin testified that "they looted his laundry, broke all of his machinery and drove him out of business." George's Lunch, the neighboring business on the corner of West 126th Street and Lenox Avenue, suffered similarly extensive damage. At some point he sought help. He first found a police officer a block away at the intersection of West 125th Street and Lenox Avenue: "Report it--I can't leave my post," the officer told him, according to the New York Post. He continued across town to the police station on West 123rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues: "Oh we know all about it," was the response there. Later, a police officer responded to Piskin's complaints about the lack of police protection by telling him, "My life is more important to me than your business is to you," testimony reported in the New York Post and World-Telegram. Piskin had joined other white merchants in suing the city for damages on the basis that police had not protected businesses, so he had an incentive to emphasize police failures. Nonetheless, the extent of the attacks on businesses and violence in this area, and the small number of arrests, most of which came several hours after crowds first arrived on the avenue, add weight to his complaint.
The only mention of the damage to Piskin's laundry is in newspaper stories about the civil suits against the city brought by white merchants. Piskin is part of the group of twenty who brought the first suits identified by the New York Sun, and is mentioned in stories published by the New York Sun, New York Post and World-Telegram at the end of July, by which time 106 merchants had filed suits. He appears as an example in those stories likely because he sought the largest damages, $14,125 (the next largest claim was for damage to the adjacent business, George's Lunch). The city lost the civil cases that went to trial to test the merchants' claims, so it is likely that Piskin received some damages. His was not among the seven awards made in March 1936 by the Supreme Court, which was responsible for large claims; the largest award in those decisions, $550 to Irving Stetkin, represented only a quarter of the claim, according to the New York Times.
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This page references:
- "106 Suits Filed Under Mob Law in Harlem Riot," World-Telegram, July 23, 1935 [clipping]
- "Claim $38,000 Riot Damages," New York Sun, April 23, 1935 [clipping]
- "Harlem Riots to Cost Dearly," New York Sun, July 23, 1935 [clipping]
- "Cops not on Job, Say Harlem Suits," New York Post, July 23, 1935 [clipping]
- "7 Win Harlem Riot Suits," New York Times, March 5, 1936, 14.