The longtime tradition of New Yorkers to salvage sidewalk castaways has reached social media-as of 2019 summer, the Instagram account @stoopingnyc has been sharing borough dwellers’ best findings.
Their feed is full of heart-shaped ottomans and bubblegum armchairs sharing space with mirrors, trigger paintings of Mariah Carey vinyls, and more, all for zero dollars, plus transport price.
Every post on the account perfectly describes what to expect and the cross streets where you can rescue it.
Popular Free Item Sharing Account on Instagram
The account is run by a sweet couple who lives in Brooklyn, but they wish to stay anonymous. They were inspired by their son, an amazing little guy with special needs who needs regular walks.
So, because of their regular strolls through their neighborhood, they were seeing stunning treasures which people were placing out on their curbs, waiting for someone to take them or for the sanitation services to pick them up.
They launched the account in July 2019 and their plan was to curate their own findings. However, it took only a week of sharing to realize that their fellow New Yorkers are more than happy to do the scouting too.
So, their community began growing and people participating in the hunt and shared their findings. Some days, they would receive more than 100 messages from people all over the 5 boroughs.
Today, the Account Serves a Large Part of the Community
It began as a hobby, but now it has transformed into a community service.
Until now, the Stooping NYC team has noticed that there are three most common categories, i.e. shelves, book cases, and kitchen islands; stiletto chairs, demon thrones, and stoop bear; and copper tubs, pink velvet chairs, and designer glass coffee tables.
With the increasing submissions, the couple is pickier about what they share so that they can be responsible in the advertisement.
There are no bug-ridden objects, no food, and nothing that is compromising safety.
Their favorite hashtag is #stoopingsuccess where they document their favorite part of the process, i.e. the before and after.
One couple claimed a double sink and installed it into their Airbnb, says the couple.
They add that there is something uniquely amazing that, whether consciously or not, people are placing these items to give them an opportunity to be reused.
And, it also gives others the chance to decorate their homes and offices and make their own memories.
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