Was leaving my favorite coffee shop in NYC a few weeks ago with a belly full of avocado toast and a fresh triple oat milk latte buzz…
Outside of Underline Coffee on W. 20th St. is a congregation area set up on the sidewalk and even part of the street. The space is barricaded off from traffic with gigantic concrete planter boxes and makes for a pretty cool space to chill and get some good people watching in… The coffee shop is surrounded by several art galleries and is located directly under the High Line, an old railroad track recently turned into an amazingly artistic park that attracts millions of people a year.
Living in the Chelsea/MeatPacking neighborhood for the past 8 years now, it’s been cool to watch how much the area has developed while maintaining much of its authentic NYC nature. Being there as often as I have has also made me feel very much like a local, and in some respects, I feel like all locals, in any area, have a responsibility to act like bonafide caretakers of the area.
That said, you can probably see where this Daily Hustle is heading…
As soon as I turned right towards the West Side Highway to start my run, a man and a woman emerged from the little patio area on the street and subsequently blocked my path on the sidewalk… My immediate thought as I moved into the street to avoid them was “no big deal.”
I then watched as the dude looked at me, took one last drag of his cigarette then flicked the butt literally at my feet…
I immediately stopped, put out the grit with my foot, picked it up and said:
“Yo dude!!! Are you going to throw this away or do you want me too?”
At this point, he had turned his back and was walking into the gallery with his chick. They both swiftly turned toward me…
“Who me?”
“Yes you!!! I don’t come to your neighborhood and shit on your street… Don’t come to ours and think it’s your personal ashtray… Try LEAVING IT BETTER THAN YOU FOUND, it’s a novel life fucking concept…”
The guy then looked at the girl almost as if he was in a state of shock that someone would actually call him out on his shit… She then looked into the whites of my eyes, grabbed him and they literally ran into the building.
As they ran off, I had a few seconds to toss out words of inspiration and encouragement…
By no means did I try to bully this dude, but I do believe we all have a responsibility to speak up when we witness an injustice that affects the greater good of society. If you prefer, think of it as a teaching opportunity.
Regardless of the uncomfortable encounter, I’m pretty sure the next time that dude wants to fire down a throat rocket, he’s going to think twice before using the street as his ashtray.
-EB