François the Tree Man

François, who sells Christmas trees on Broadway and 102nd Street in Manhattan, is the subject of "Tree Man," a new documentary.

“Only in New York could a couple of Jews make a film about French Canadians coming to the city to sell Christmas trees to atheists.”

The film depicts a longtime customer who travels from Queens to the tree man of Broadway, explaining that, “This has nothing to do with trees anymore.”

Jill Chase, 74, a local resident whom François called “my New York mother,” showed up with a dish covered in tinfoil that she had just cooked. Since befriending François during his first year, she has given him a key to her apartment so he can shower.

“Everyone knows François,” she said. “He bonds with everybody here.”

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