Yesterday we reported that 71-year-old John Swain confessed to burning down the Bryant Park Corporation's shoe shine booth not once, but twice over the past month. A few hours later we reported that after being charged with two counts of arson, he was back at his shoe shining station at Grand Central! Both the NY Post and NY Times went to visit the elderly arsonist—who could be facing either a fine or jail time—and there he was, wearing a cardboard sign around his neck with black lettering that read: Shoe Shine.
The Fire Department has noted that Swain was angry that he wasn't permitted to work the Bryant Park booth—most likely by other shoe shiners, who police the booth themselves even though it was put there by the Bryant Park Corporation. Swain's roommate Don Ward, a shoe shiner on 6th and 47th, says Swain believed the BPC's stand was stealing his business, a grudge he may have been holding for some 15 years. Ward told the Times, “The frustration has been building up for a long time. You’ve got to understand something: Out here, the competition is cutthroat, dog-eat-dog. If the other guy is taking your customers, he’s stealing your livelihood, and you can’t let that happen.” Swain says his lawyer has told him not to discuss the case, but agreed with Ward, telling the reporter: “You heard him right.” His court appearance is on May 17th, and he says the facts revealed at that time will improve his image.
Meanwhile, the BPC's Dick Dillon addresses Swain being out on the streets again, saying, "I would have felt he would have gotten something a little more severe. I mean, the guy burns something down and he’s allowed right back out?"
