[Milsurplus] Surplus stores, then and now

[K2CBY at aol.com]

When I was a 13 or 14 living on Long Island in the early 1960s I  was 
surprised to discover that my parents would let me take the Long Island  Railroad 
unaccompanied into New York City so long as my destination was Radio  Row rather 
than the fleshpots of Times Square. As a result, I became very  familiar with 
the hole-in-the-wall surplus outfits that lined the blocks along  Vesey, 
Cortlandt, Dey and Greenwich Streets. For a budding ham operator, it was  the 
closest thing to heaven I could imagine. Of course, the whole neighborhood  -- even 
the streets themselves -- vanished at the end of the decade when they  built 
the World Trade Center Twin Towers.
 
More than 40 years later, the names of the various establishments have long  
since faded from memory. With one exception. Leeds Radio.
 
>From the standpoint of location, appearance, stock, etc. Leeds was  
indistinguishable from any of its numerous competitors. But there was one  difference 
that made it memorable -- the cantankerous guy that ran the place.  Experience 
taught that he was best approached in the late morning, after he had  
acclimated to the light of day but before he succumed to the rigors of a long  and (I 
suspect) liquid lunch. If he was in a good mood, he'd sell you  something and 
even answer a question or two. If in a foul temper, which was not  unusual, it 
was best to take a long turn around the block and come back for a  second try.
 
Prices were never marked, and I suspect they were highly variable  -- if the 
proprietor sensed a deep pocket or acute desire on a part of the  customer. 
Sometimes, the owner wouldn't quote a price at all; and no amount  of pleading 
about youth, innocence, long train trips and carefully nurtured  savings would 
cause him to budge.
 
I was browsing the net the other day, and what should I discover but 
_www.leedselect.com_ (http://www.leedselect.com)  -- moved to  Brooklyn but very much 
alive. I swear they have still got some of the stuff I  saw 40 years ago on 
Vesey Street -- now if the prices were just the same.
 
Miles Anderson, K2CBY
16 Round Pond Lane
Sag Harbor, NY  11963