“Disturbing the Universe,” a new documentary on the civil rights lawyer William M. Kunstler, opened Friday at Cinema Village, in the East Village.

the film, made by two of mr. Kunstler’s daughters, Emily and Sarah Kunstler, burnishes the memory of mr. Kunstler, who lived in a townhouse at 13 Gay Street, in Greenwich Village.

the family long occupied the townhouse, which was the headquarters of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice, which attacked racism and injustice and policies like the Rockefeller-era drug laws.

but now as the documentary is opening, the family has moved out and the Kunstler Fund has been shuttered. the townhouse has been rented out to a businessman, and one of its occupants, Randy Credico, 54, a stand-up comedian and drug law activist who was director of the fund for the past 12 years, has decided to step down. he plans to devote himself full-time to his United States Senate campaign, in which he intends to challenge Senator Charles E. Schumer for the Democratic nomination next September.

“The vibes of bill Kunstler are really alive there — they really inspired me all these years,” he said. “But I can’t run the fund and also run for Senate at the same time.”

Sarah Kunstler, who recently had a son, said that the Gay Street residence was “a tiny jewel of a house and definitely enough room growing up” but that she and her mother wanted to move into a bigger space, which they have found in Brooklyn. They have rented out the townhouse but are not selling it.

“It has a lot of meaning, so selling it would not be something we want to do,” she said. “The house has been a family member.”

As for the Kunstler Fund, she said, it was very dependent on mr. Credico.

“There’s really nobody to steward it right now, and we don’t want to keep it active if we can’t do it well,” she said.

mr. Credico makes no pretense about his longtime battle with drugs and alcohol addiction. he said he has been free of drugs and alcohol for two months now and hopes to stay sober for the entire campaign.

mr. Credico said his campaign manager is a former comedy writer for “Saturday Night Live,” and then he began pouring forth with phone numbers of celebrities and comedians he said were endorsing him. I called only one: Larry David, at his office in Los Angeles. mr. David would not reveal any details about the season finale of “Curb your Enthusiasm” on HBO, but he did offer his support of mr. Credico’s candidacy – in his own inimitable, free-associative, hilarious style – and praised his passion for fighting harsh drug laws.

“It’d be pretty interesting, Credico in the Senate — kind of like tying a bunch of cans to a dog and setting him loose in a china shop,” he said. “I don’t envy Schumer. Randy’s really going to get under his skin.”

When told that mr. Credico plans on running the race sober, mr. David said, “Listen, I can’t tell the difference whether Randy’s drunk or sober.”

Then mr. David said, in an unprintable way, that mr. Credico had a lot of guts.

“He’ll say absolutely anything that’s on his mind,” he said.

Hmm, just like Larry David, I observed.

“No, I only do it on TV,” mr. David shot back. “I’m only Larry David on TV. Credico’s Larry David in real life.”

mr. Credico said he loved fighting the bill Kunstler fight, and that his campaign will give him the platform to continue doing it. he met mr. Kunstler when his old girlfriend, the entertainer Joey Heatherton, had legal trouble. mr. Credico got mr. Kunstler to help and remained friends with him since. he was preparing, one recent weeknight, to leave for Argentina for a barrage of dental work.

“I need $6,000 worth of dental work, which I can get done for $600 down there,” he said. “I can’t go into the campaign with no teeth.”

once his teeth are fixed, mr. Credico is planning to move into his campaign office, which is an upper floor of another Manhattan townhouse: the home of the artist Richard Corey, son of the legendary 94-year-old comedian Irwin Corey.

mr. Credico pulled a check out of his pocket for $1,000 written by Irwin Corey.

though sober, mr. Credico does hope to appeal to the partying public.

“My campaign slogan is going to be, ‘Which candidate would you rather smoke a joint with? Credico or Schumer?’” he said, while racing around the penthouse apartment of a friend and directing a small staff of young adults with laptops on how to get out word of his candidacy. he wore his usual jeans and sport jacket and smoked cigarettes and chugged Coke — the soft drink — directly from the 2-liter bottle. he had on hand two boxes of Cuban cigars that he claimed were a gift from former Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau.

last year, mr. Credico was arrested after interfering with police officers making a marijuana arrest on Gay Street. As a comedian, he has played Las Vegas and performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” at age 27. he was profiled in the documentary “60 Spins around the Sun,” financed by the actor Jack Black. he was also featured with the rap mogul Russell Simmons in “Lockdown, USA,” a documentary about the Rockefeller drug laws.