However, many as he notes, are trying "to live 'better' lives within the framework of their own and society's weaknesses" (Duneier 158). Thus, just like other viable members of any society, these people are doing what they can to make ends meet and still live decent and fulfilled lives. They fill the definition of many growing and changing societies; they are just doing it in the microcosm of Greenwich Village, instead of in the boardrooms of high-powered firms. It is unmistakable that some of these vendors could certainly fit into that environment, but simply choose not to. Third, this microcosm of society has formed its own hierarchy, which stretches from Hasan, who functions as a sort of unofficial leader, down through the ranks of magazine and book vendors and "support" people who help move, store, and place merchandise, and even hold desirable spots on the sidewalks for some of the vendors. Thus, there are levels in this functional society and some of the members' function effectively, while some are...

However, the society functions effectively for those who live in it or they would move on to other endeavors, and other street societies. Duneier is grudgingly accepted into the society, but never quite fits in. He is seen alternately as "a naive white man who could himself be exploited...; a Jew who was going to make a lot of money off the stories of people working the streets; a white writer who was trying to 'state the truth about what was going on'" (Duneier 12). These examples indicate that these vendors of Greenwich Village have created their own society, and it exists from a functional perspective, and will probably continue to exist in that perspective.
References

Duneier, Mitchell. Sidewalk. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.

O'Hehir, Andrew. "Sidewalk." Salon.com. 16 Dec. 1999. 1 Dec. 2004. http://www.salon.com/books/review/1999/12/16/duneier/