Sunnyside Book & Media Swap — Attraction in New York

At a time when most of the world came grinding to a halt, this little corner of Sunnyside sprang to life. A lone masked vigilante, armed only with a folding table, a chess board, and a strong sense of determination, stared into the void and willed this neighborhood gathering spot into existence. Rumor has it that he was inspired by a line from his second favorite Kevin Costner movie, Field of Dreams. "If you build it, they will come." And so he did.

A place where people can donate - or select from - assorted books, dvds, cds, records, puzzles, board games & video games, or stay for a friendly game of chess or a chat about various topics (weather permitting).

No money changes hands - it's a volunteer effort run efficiently and professionally; books are neatly arranged and organized roughly by type, trash is removed, sidewalks shoveled, lights are set out for the evening hours, and tarps protect from rain & snow. Over the course of several months it has grown through word of mouth to include several tables, night lights and a book drop.

Open 7 days a week, dawn to dusk, as long as it isn't raining. Donations of media large and small are welcome (a perfect way to declutter), and you are welcome to browse the offerings and take what...

The guy who runs this place acts like it's a free and open community resource, but he is operating a BUSINESS and using community book donations as a way of making money for himself, while also asking for public donations from the neighborhood! Don't believe me? Go anytime when he's sitting there going through donations and skimming anything he can make money on right off the top! He will rudely tell you not to touch anything he hasn't sorted through yet. He's basically tricking the community into paying his rent and discarding whatever books he can't make money on as if he's operating a community program. He is also incredibly rude and acts...

This was a great community resource but the older guy who runs this thing is now treating it like a business and screams at people who don't cough up mandatory donations even if your dropping off books for the exchange. He's also reselling books skimming the valuable ones before they hit the tables. Like everything else , something that started off nice is corrupted by greed and nasty personalities. The book exchange is nice , but that guy...