The $100,000 Fordham Road Panhandler

By David Greene

Bronxnews.com

{Photo by David Greene}

Eddie Wise, the self-proclaimed, 'Hustler' of Fordham Road, who was a rags-to-riches story with his $100,000 settlement with the NYPD, is back on Fordham Road, asking for change.

No longer 'parking cars' on E. 189 Street, Wise can now be found holding the door to the 24-hour check cashing store on Fordham Road and Lorillard Place.
Wise, who disappeared for a year but is back with his new 'hustle,' says he didn't blow all of the money from the lawsuit. "I've got about half of it left. I'm just coming out here to hustle again. I'm not going to take my money from the bank."


"I'm not harassing anyone," Wise says outside the business, "I'm not robbing no one." Unfortunately, someone did, as the building next door to the check cashing business has been the site of at least four recent robberies and assaults, possibly all against Fordham University students.
Fordham student Tim Hartnett, who lives in the building and lost a laptop after his apartment was broken into, knows Wise and stated, "He's a cool guy, he calls me Red. I don't think he's aggressive at all."
Wise claimed officers harassed and chased him both times, shortly after our visits for this article, and Wise and members of the 'parking spot crew' reportedly found something else to do on Monday, after a police crackdown.
An employee of the check-cashing business stated, "Oh yeah, he wasn't here today. I think he's here Monday through Friday, he's always here opening the door."
Asked if management is annoyed at Wise, she stated, "They have called the cops a couple of times because he's not supposed to be opening the door, and he's not supposed to be there in the first place, but he still comes back."