Line tensions boil over: East Village bookseller Bonnie Slotnick arrested outside Harry Styles pop-up on 2nd Street

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

East Village bookseller Bonnie Slotnick, 72, is speaking out after spending roughly 12 hours in custody following an altercation with the line-management team outside the Harry Styles pop-up on Second Street.

For nearly a month, Harry Styles fans have been making their way to the East Village, where a "Together, Together" merchandise pop-up opened Aug. 26 at 22 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. 

The pop-up, scheduled to run through Nov. 1 during Styles' 30-show run at Madison Square Garden, has regularly drawn blocks-long lines of fans to the area.

On Friday afternoon, tensions over the crowds and line management escalated into an altercation involving longtime neighborhood bookseller Bonnie Slotnick. 

Slotnick, 72, who owns Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks on the block, was arrested following a confrontation with members of the pop-up's line-management team. She said she subsequently spent roughly 12 hours in custody between the 9th Precinct and Manhattan Central Booking, with a stop at Bellevue Hospital.

EVG spoke with Slotnick about what happened Friday and what she described as weeks of problems associated with managing the lines outside the pop-up. 

We also spoke with members of the security/line-management team, whose account of Friday's confrontation differs from Slotnick's, as well as another Second Street business owner who described ongoing issues with the lines. 

Before recounting what happened, Slotnick wanted to address how the incident — and her role in it — might be perceived.

I feel like what this story can turn into, or maybe is ... a crabby old lady getting really mad at young people. 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. 

So, I hope this will reveal how stressful it's been to have this going on, on my block, and for months.

What happened on Friday? Can you walk us through it? 

I got to work a few minutes before opening, and a security guard, plus two others, were standing right in front of my shop. 

She was standing, not for the first time, where I park my bike, which is attached to the railing of the building. And she wouldn't move. I asked her to move again. She threw her hands up and said, "I don't talk to you." 

Then I can't remember exactly how the name-calling started. She has told me in the past that I'm uncivil to her. I had just turned around from locking the Kryptonite lock on my bike, and I had that key in my hand. Just the key. The shank was maybe an inch long. I held it between my fingers, and I shoved it in her face — actually more like at her neck. 

And she grabbed my hand and left a big bruise on my wrist. Then she yelled, "Assault!" and yelled to the other two people to call the police. I grabbed her hand to get it off me. 

Afterward, I heard the police say that she had a bruise on her wrist, and they called an ambulance. I wasn't around for that. I went into my shop and started to get ready to open. Five minutes later, two cops were there, and 10 minutes later, four.

What happened when the police came into the shop? 

They asked me what happened, and I told them. I told them that the situation had been going on for weeks and it was very upsetting. It was nerve-wracking to have to deal with hundreds of people outside my store and these security people. They brought in a female officer, and she patted me down and handcuffed me. They said they were arresting me. 

And you were taken to the 9th Precinct?

Yes. They took my knapsack, took everything out of it, and vouched it. They put me in a cell. I was there from about 2 until after 6 p.m.

The officer in charge of me took all my cards and everything from my wallet and taped them to a piece of cardboard, like a school project. I guess they have to do that. They gave it back to me last night. It reminded me of something you would do if you needed extra credit in third grade. Each card was taped in a neat little row.

There was absolutely nothing in the cell. They took the handcuffs off, but I couldn't read anything, and I didn't have my watch. I basically walked in circles and did bodyweight calisthenics and stretches.

I also sang. I discovered that the acoustics are really good in there, especially under the HVAC unit. I sang "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" and "Big Rock Candy Mountain," which are like prison and depression songs.

The officer told me through the door what was going on, but the cell wall is covered with plexiglass, so it was hard to hear him. I didn't really understand that I was being taken to the Tombs afterward.

Then you were taken to Manhattan Central Booking?

They finally got the paperwork done, cuffed me, and put me back in the car. They cuff your hands behind your back, which isn't comfortable to begin with, but sitting in the car is really hard.

They took me down to the Tombs, and that is a really hellacious place. They stand you up against the wall while they check you in, then take you through a maze you could never find your way out of.

I had to walk on a floor that was being cleaned, so my shoes were wet, and then walk down two flights of stairs, cuffed, without being able to hold on to the banister. I have a kneecap that I broke two years ago and two big screws in my spine, so I was afraid I might fall.

Then they took me for a medical checkup, and my blood pressure was 188/69. They sent me to Bellevue. They took me in the police car, with lights and sirens, through the Feast of San Gennaro festival.

I was at the hospital for, I don't know, 45 minutes. I had taken my blood pressure medicine in the morning, so they couldn't give me more. I told them I was obviously in distress. By the time I left, my blood pressure had come down a little bit.

Then I went back to the Tombs, back through the same thing. I got searched a few more times, and at about 9:30 p.m. they put me in a cell with three other women.

I asked how long I would be there. What a stupid question! The guard said she had no idea. She did tell me that if I didn't get a docket number by midnight, because the court shuts down at 1, I probably wouldn't be processed that night and would have to stay until the morning.

I was sitting on a concrete bench on a concrete floor against a concrete wall.

At about a quarter to 1, I think, the guard called my name and took me upstairs. They cuff you to whatever piece of furniture you're near or sitting on, so they locked me to the bench.

Then they called me to speak to the Legal Aid lawyer, who comprehended the situation very quickly. Within a few minutes, they called me up in front of the judge, and someone read the charges.

What were you charged with? 

One count of menacing in the second degree.

What happened before the judge? 

The lawyer said it was outrageous that I hadn't been given a desk appearance ticket, which is what Officer Heaning originally told me he was going to try to do. It's basically a reservation for a future rendezvous with a judge. But then I was told that keys are considered a weapon.

The attorney said it was outrageous that I was taken to jail, especially given my high blood pressure and other ailments. He also said the charge made it sound like we were two neighbors having a dispute, rather than that I have a 29-year-established business and this woman is working for somebody who's completely outside the community.

The woman asked for an order of protection against me. The attorney asked the judge to deny that, which she did. And she gave me another court date in November.

I took pictures of the bruise on my arm, so we're equally injured. I'm going to make it clear that I was holding a key, that I didn't pull out a bunch of keys in order to kill this girl.

Then I went back, and my friends, thank God, were waiting for me, and we walked back to the shop. I rode my bike over to the Precinct to get my backpack and found out that when they take money you have on you and call it "safekeeping," they don't give it back to you. You have to go down to One Police Plaza and apply to get a check.

Luckily, it wasn't that much money, but I'll do that. That must be really hard for other people.

Are you represented by counsel? 

Yes. His name is McCarthy. He was from the Legal Aid Society and was appointed to represent me. I think he did a really good job, so I don't see any reason to look for somebody else. 

What's your plan going forward? 

I'm going to keep my big fat mouth shut, which is incredibly hard for me. 

What do you hope happens now? 

I want the whole thing to go away. I hope that when I come in tomorrow, it's not there. That's not realistic. I hope that the guy who owns the property, who's a guy from the neighborhood, Will Morgan, will do more investigation before he does anything like this again. 

I called him and spoke to someone on his staff. He apologized profusely and said they had no idea it would be like that. He was not aware that this pop-up would be so...

They're so sorry; they didn't intend it to be like this. These pop-up things are all over the city, but they're not for two and a half months. The line in front of my store is the American Express priority line. 

I know everybody on EV Grieve feels the same about the idiots who stand in line. I was trying to remember with some of my adult customers what we ever stood in line for. All I can remember standing in line for is going to the movies. Because if you didn't get a good place in line, you didn't get a good seat. Now everything is reserved in advance. 

Had there been problems between you and the line-management staff before Friday? 

The first day this thing appeared, the only thing I knew about it was that they had decorated the front of the building. I saw the woman who was painting. It was really kind of fun watching her paint. She was very nice. 

Then, a few days later, the lines started. 

As I've already said, I have a pretty nasty mouth, and I'm not in a good mood. And as I would walk by the line I would shout obscenities at them, and their guards didn't like that. They followed me.

One of the tall male guards said, "Don't do that." And I just yelled, "First Amendment! I can say whatever I want. I'm walking down the street. They don't even have to think that it's aimed at them if they don't want to."

This woman, Amanda, and a man named Manny came into the shop. They said, "OK, this is going to get more intense. Tomorrow is going to be the biggest day, and then after that it'll be over." 

Nobody ever told me that it was going until Nov. 1. Nobody ever told me anything, or told anybody else on the block, as far as I know. 

At some point, was your bicycle damaged? 

I had to get home to meet somebody at 5. I came out, got on my bike, and the front tire was completely flat. It had a three-inch slice in the side. I immediately thought it was probably not one of the girls waiting in line. I thought it was one of the staff. I called the property owner's office and told them about the tire, and they said they would pay for it. It cost me $89 to replace the tire, tube and labor. 

Did they? 

Not yet. I got a text from Amanda a few days later asking me to send a scan of the receipt so they could pay for the damage. 

After everything that's happened, what would make the situation better for you? 

It's a beautiful, quiet street with beautiful trees. I love my neighbors. Still, the best thing would be if it would just go away. They could put the whole line on the other side of the street, where there are no businesses. 

One last question: If Harry Styles came into the shop and apologized, would you accept it? 

I would be interested in receiving an apology. Yes. But it wouldn't make my day. It wouldn't make my life.

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H/T EVG reader Mike!