21st
jdel:
Backstory: After leaving the office, Scott and I noticed a crowd gathering on the corner of Prince and Elizabeth, centered around an old beat up mailbox. There were probably around 15 people standing outside, most of them older, and clearly of a different generation. The ringleader, a frumpy lesbian in a tight linen shirt, started the proceedings by hopping up onto the mailbox and telling a “New York Story.” She recalled a time when she was a child and the condo development at 211 Elizabeth was just a live chicken market. When she finished her tale, she invited members of the crowd to “get up on the saddle and tell a story.” They literally had a saddle with them. One by one members of the group hopped up onto the mailbox (some more ably than others), and they each told a story from old New York. Some were lifelong New Yorkers, others were transplanted in 10 years ago, and a few were from out of town but sharing their love for this city anyway. After about 15 minutes of storytelling, the ringleader hopped back up on the mailbox and pleaded that everyone go back to their respective NY communities and share stories with your neighbors around a mailbox. It seemed somewhat anti-gentrification, but at the same time it was mainly just pro-community. Spend time with the people who live on your street; make New York the community it once was.
And that right there is my New York story.