Beloved watch repair-shop owner defies eviction, gentrification: 'I don't want to stop working'
For 42 years, David's Shoe & Watch Repair shop was a staple at the corner of Hudson and Barrow in NYC's West Village — repairing timepieces and mending soles for generations of loyal, local customers.
Through it all, proprietor Raphael 'David' Davidson endured. Gentrification, COVID-19, brutal rent hikes — even a move down the block last year into the dry cleaners couldn't stop the faithful watch man from tending to the ever-evolving neighborhood's needs.
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Or, so it seemed.
It was 1982 when the Russian-speaking immigrant from Uzbekistan first hung out a shingle at 460 Hudson St. — nearly 40 good years before serious trouble for the family-run spot reared its head in the form of the 2020 pandemic.
19 A customer gives Raphael 'David' Davidson a shoe for repair beside of his car on Sunday afternoon.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
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19 Patrons surround David's makeshift car-trunk workroom on Hudson.
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'For six months I was closed, and I applied for a loan, but I couldn't get any loan because I work alone,' the 80-year-old told The Post. 'Me and my son, we work together for ourselves.'
He explained that he applied for the same financial relief that many other businesses did at the time — but that his small size worked against him.
With his $4,200 monthly rent due and little money coming in, his bills ballooned to roughly $65,000. The government eventually sent him a paltry $1,500 — all going straight to the landlord.
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19 David is shown working in his shop in 2008.
Michael Sofronski
19 He is now drawing faithful customers to his car, where he keeps some of his tools.
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That same landlord tried to evict him just as business was getting back to normal — even taking David to court over the amount of rent owed. A judge ordered payments of $5,000 until the lease ended, back in June 2024 — with no offer to extend.
New Yorkers in the close-knit community were saddened and shocked to hear the historic shop was shutting down, and they set up a GoFundMe page and a petition that amassed nearly 300 signatures and over $16,000.
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And for a while, it looked like a victory, albeit a qualified one — with the Acme Cleaners just up the street at 508 Hudson willing to free up a small amount of space to keep neighborhood tradition alive.
A great idea — but ultimately impractical, David said.
'All my tools, machinery, everything was in the shop. I couldn't take anything,' he said. 'I just took some of the tools for repair and watches there, but all the machinery that was there for thousands and thousands of dollars, I couldn't take it because I didn't have room.'
19 David toils away in his storefront workshop in 2022.
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19 The longtime store was previously located at 460 Hudson.
Michael Sofronski
19 David, shown in 2008, has been in the trade for 42 years.
Michael Sofronski
Then, there was the working environment — a no-go for the aging octogenarian.
'For six months I was working, but they use chemicals over there. I couldn't take it,' David confessed.
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But the dedicated area fixture wasn't about to give up — taking his business fully mobile earlier this year.
Now, David can be found at the corner of Hudson and Christopher every Sunday — working from his car.
19 Customers wait in line as David welcomes their business.
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19 Customer Cassandra Bucalo brought several shoes for repair on Sunday.
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19 David had a stream of visitors during his four-hour stint.
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19 His weekly visit to the street outside of his former shop brings NYC residents in need of shoe and watch repairs.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
There, steps from where he operated all those years, the most loyal locals line up to drop off their afflicted accessories, which David takes to his home-based workshop, returning the items the following week.
'I lost most of my customers, but I have some that have known me for a long time, and they wait for Sunday for me,' he shared.
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'They come because they know I do a good job and give good prices and provide good service,' David said. 'They've known me for many, many years, so I keep those customers long enough — and they keep me busy also.'
David Cohn is just one of the many customers who have come to find the service invaluable — over a period of nearly two decades, he's stopped by for watch repair, shoe repairs, even valuations of his most treasured timepieces.
'He's very trustworthy,' Cohn, also 80, said. 'And his son was also just as gentle as him and just as helpful.
19 David takes a closer look at a watch brought to him on Sunday.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
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19 These are just some of the tools he uses.
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19 David inspects a woman's ring on Sunday.
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19 David shows off a June 2024 blog post about him by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
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'It's a shame to lose an institution that's been around for as long as his,' he added. 'It's just a shame that the apparatus of the landlord is destroying the mom-and-pop-ness of the community.'
On average, David gets about 10 customers over four hours every Sunday — but after a video of him recently went viral on Instagram, his phone started blowing up with messages from potential new customers.
'I think we're going to have some new customers,' he told The Post. 'I'll find out Sunday.'
19 Ashwin Nirantar exchanges money with David for a watch fix.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
19 Nirantar beams with his repaired timepiece.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
Once the video started gaining traction, a new GoFundMe was set up — 'for whatever that next chapter becomes,' the fundraising page said.
'We want to make sure he and his wife have the support they need — because for 42 years, David showed up for New York,' organizer Kate DePetro wrote.
As of Monday morning, July 21, the GoFundMe has received 2,000 donations and raised just shy of $50,000 toward a $60,000 goal.
DePetro revealed that outcome to him on Sunday in a new Instagram post.
'No way,' the surprised senior said.
19 David takes a closer look at a watch in need of work.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
19 David poses with satisfied customers Patrick Fuller and Elena Hanissian.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
Even without that boost, David had planned on sticking with the new arrangement for 'as long as [he] can.'
'I don't want to stop working,' David told The Post.
'My Social Security is very little, so it's not enough if I don't work,' he shared. 'My wife and I retired, and all the kids, nobody's home. I don't make much money, but at least I keep this running and keep me busy. I can pay my home rent.'
David can be found on the corner of Hudson and Christopher every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
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