One Man's Garbage...

Friday, June 17th:  ~10:00am

Having a baby is not cheap.  Diapers, formula, clothing, toys, furniture: everything for a baby is expensive, quickly depleted, or rendered obsolete in a brief few months.  Combine this with one of the world's most expensive locales, and parenthood in NYC becomes a very expensive proposition, so any break that comes along is most welcome. 

In a city where money, for many, is no object, except to when it comes to affording a spacious apartment, trash days can be a bonanza in New York. It's amazing what some people will throw out as a result of unlimited funds and significantly limited space.  Street scavenging, dumpster diving, and "aggressive recycling" have long been mainstays of the New York social ecosystem.  In the 1800s, when the refuse of the rich was stored on garbage barges on the East River, scores of the poor would scavenge these floating dumps for anything of value - serviceable but outdated items, scrap metal, cloth, etc. - to use for their own or to sell to the numerous scrap dealers throughout the city.  There are few who crawl through the trash today (it's not nearly as accessible), but the rich still throw out items of value, and the poor, myself included, still make the most of it. 

Our apartment on the Upper West Side was in a 100 year old brownstone that had been converted into multiple units.  Some of these were rent stabilized, like ours, which made the building a haven for younger couples and older individuals on a fixed income.   The building was just 50 yards off Riverside Drive and Park, and thus only a few steps from the grand, pre-war apartments that sprung up along the Hudson River in the early 1900s.  This absurdly close proximity to the relatively well-off made for some interesting finds on bulk garbage collection day. 

In addition to regular garbage days, when buildings put out their refuse and recycling, there are occasional bulk garbage days for the pick up and removal of couches, beds, refrigerators, electronics, etc.  All of this is simply left on the street in the evening to be picked up the following day.  One night, while walking home from my parking spot (this time only two blocks from my apartment) I spotted an interesting mound of plastic bags, tables, and couches just beyond my building.  As always when presented with such a sight, I went to investigate.  99 times out of 100 there's nothing worthwhile, but this time, I struck audiophile gold. 

Sitting on an off-color leather settee was an amazing, if slightly ratty for their grills, pair of KEF Monitor speakers.  These little beauties retailed of over $1,500 a pair in the early 90s and they still sound amazing today.  That little circle in the middle is the tweeter, actually set within mid-range driver to help with phase and sound-stage.  A good scrub and some new felt pads were the only requirements to make these street finds an integral part of my surround-sound system.  My only regret was that the original owner hadn't decided to throw out the excellent amplifier that must have been paired with them at one point.  The speakers were an excellent find, but the best was still to come.

Fast forward 4 years.  It had been a hellish parking night.  I'd been circling for over an hour, I'd narrowly missed 4 different spaces (two of them taken by non New Yorkers), and I had to pee.  I eventually found a spot 4 blocks from home.  Mildly irritated, I began my walk.  A few blocks in, I came across another pile of garbage.  Smaller this time, but there was an interesting shape on top.  A stroller shape, to be exact.  I passed it by at first - we already had a nice stroller - but went back after half a block.  I couldn't help myself.  I unfolded it and, to my surprise, it was a beautiful Maclaren Techno stroller.  It was an older model, but in fantastic condition.  Even the color Sumie and I wanted. 

I took it home, disassembled, scrubbed, and reassembled everything, and was presented with a virtually brand-new stroller.  We've been using it ever since.  Our other stroller, a city mini, is fantastic for longer walks, but difficult in the narrow aisles of most Manhattan stores and markets.  The Maclaren is perfect for errands and has become our "go-to" stroller.  By far, it's been our most beneficial scavenge.  I wonder what the streets of SF will have to share. 

In other news, Mimi has taken a shine to the Beatles.  She loves music and already has better rhythm than her father.  I'll be sure to post about our music strategy in the future, but for the time being, here's Mimi taking a quick break from "A Hard Day's Night." 

-Steve