Whenever I’m in New York City, I tend to be on high alert for things of visual interest. Whether it’s street art, sticker art, architecture, things on the sidewalk … I seem to be keenly aware of my surroundings. So when I was walking through Chelsea on my way to some art galleries, I noticed a scarf hanging from a wall, and wondered why it was there, as it seemed like it was placed there on purpose. A few more steps down the street made me realize that it had a secret purpose. Take a closer look above – it’s somewhat taut, as if it’s been stretched, and it appears to be tied to the chain link fence. What’s going on here?
As I walked down the street so that I could see through a crack behind this fence, I found my answer: the scarf appears to be tied to a folded up motorized scooter. My guess is that someone uses this scooter to get to work, but can’t bring the scooter into the office, so they hoist it over the fence and tie it to hide it from the general public. Not sure why this is a better idea than locking it up with a bike lock, as the scarf certainly caught my attention and I suppose I could have snagged this scooter for myself, if I were that kind of guy (I’m not).
Things like this add to the appeal of walking around NYC – sometimes I feel like one can collect a whole trove of stories just by walking and looking at one’s surroundings. As Kurtis Blow once rapped about NYC, there’s “8 Million Stories.”