Harry Styles, the amphibious pop star who’s just coming off a 30 day engagement at Madison Square Garden, has made a new enemy. And I’m not talking about Channing Tatum. Meet Bonnie Slotnick, beloved bookseller and purveyor of cookbooks in the East Village lo these many years.
As the neighborhood blog EV Grieve reported last week, Slotnick was arrested on Friday following a confrontation with some of Styles’ people. How did these worlds collide, you ask? Back in August, the singer’s team erected a pop-up merch shop on the same quiet downtown block that houses Slotnick’s cookbook store, which has been in business for 30 years.
Since its far more recent debut in the neighborhood, the Styles shop has drawn a mass of superfans to clog the sidewalks in the area as they wait for Harry. (New Yorkers are loving lines now; it’s a thing.) A line-management team featuring several security guards was summoned to keep the peace. But not for the long-time residents. As Slotnick told Gothamist, the pop-up has been particularly irksome for the block’s small businesses.
Before Friday’s altercation, tension had been brewing between Slotnick and one particular guard for several weeks. As she told EV Grieve, on the day of the incident the Styles supporter was obstructing the place where Slotnick usually locks her bike. Angry words were exchanged, then Slotnick approached the guard with lock in hand.
There was a tussle—two respective wrists were bruised—and someone cried “assault.” Slotnick subsequently spent 12 hours in custody. Neither she nor the guard appear to have sustained serious injuries, but the bookseller walked away with four counts—including harassment and possession of a weapon. Though she doesn’t precisely defend her behavior, Slotnick told Gothamist that conditions conspired.
And I don’t really need that to be my image any more than it already is. I want to make sure that whatever information comes out about this doesn’t damage my business. I don’t want people to be afraid of me, and I don’t want people to think that I’m crazy, or that I’m a Karen.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
