Mayors – They’re Just Like Us!...

Image via DNAinfo...They leave the crap they don’t want on the sidewalk outside their house

A couple of years ago, an older, non-urban-seeming lady approached me hesitantly on the sidewalk near my building. Oh crap, I thought to myself, some religious freak, so I responded warily, with one raised eyebrow and no smile. “Yes?” She pointed to a pile of books on a nearby stoop, and in a quiet voice asked, “Is that how people give away books in New York?” “Yes,” I trumpeted, greatly relieved. “Definitely! Go for it.”

I didn’t bother clarifying that This Is How People Give Away Books – and clothes and shoes and toys and car seats and chairs and IKEA Billys – in Park Slope.

Hizzoner and his family are finally leaving their [clearly beloved] neighborhood behind and making their move to Gracie Mansion (I’ve already made so many Jefferson jokes on this topic, I’ll refrain, but you should feel free to sing the theme song). And like any good Park Slope resident would do, they left some of the junk they were getting rid of outside their row house, along with a hand-written “free” sign affixed all folksy-like, to their chain link fence, with duct tape.

Among the treasures caught on camera was a Christmas tree stand, and what looked like a stained pine bookshelf from Gothic Cabinet Mart. I’m guessing everything’s long gone by now. Because we garbage-pickers upcycling enthusiasts snag discarded crap from non-mayors all the time. But this stuff may have ebay potential, or at least bragging rights. And, one hopes, no bedbugs.

VIA DNAINFO.COM