Ocean Avenue Books

Information may not be reliable

The media has reported about an incident that occurred involving me, Diane Goodman, and my business, Ocean Avenue Books. I wish to make the following things clear:

First, I sincerely apologize to the customer with whom this incident occurred. In response to a negative review on Yelp I used insulting and inappropriate language in private and public emails. For that there is no excuse.

Before my Yelp account was deactivated I wrote later emails apologizing to the customer, but I realize the damage had already been done. Those emails have not been made public, and because my account has been deactivated I cannot retrieve them.

After the email exchange I attempted to visit the customer's home which is just a few blocks from my store. I brought movie passes as a token of goodwill and hoped a face-to-face meeting would help resolve the bitterness.

I now realize that going to his home was a mistake because he was understandably alarmed when I was at the door. A physical struggle ensued but I had no intention of any physical altercation. We both called 911 and police arrived.

I was taken to the hospital and examined by a psychiatrist and was released immediately after that examination. I was not placed under a 72-hour psychiatric hold nor did I ever go to jail.

I have been in the book selling business for nearly 20 years and have always tried to be a good member of the community. I am committed to providing the neighborhood of Ocean Avenue with a quality used book store as I have been doing at various business locations since 1992.

I am extending an offer to the customer to attend mediation with me at my expense so that we can resolve this amicably.

Finally, I apologize to my friends, family, and long-time customers. This has been an embarrassing episode and I hope we can all move beyond it in time.