“The social structure of sidewalk life hangs partly on what can be called self appointed public characters. A public character is anyone who is in frequent enough contact with a wide circle of people and who is sufficiently interested to make himself a public character. A public character need have no special talents or wisdom to fulfill his function—although he often does.” (Pp 89, Death and Life of Great American Cities, On the uses of Sidewalks: Contact)

Larry Selman and Alice Elliot

Larry Selman lives on Bedford Street in New York City’s West Village. He is a public character of the first order, a community activist and fundraiser, and suffers from severe developmental disabilities. He has raised tens of thousands of dollars for national and local charities though he lives in poverty himself. It is estimated that because of Larry’s efforts, his block association has given more than $300,000 over the decades of his making contact with his neighbors on Bedford Street. Continue reading »