Here at The NYC Insider,
we get a fair amount of mail from
first-time visitors to New York City who
are concerned about being taken advantage
of, in one way or another, during their
time in the Big Apple. Despite the fact
that crime is
way down (putting your chances of being a
victim here about the same as in Boise,
Idaho), the myth that New York is a
dangerous place persists. Similarly, many
visitors have the notion that New Yorkers
are a rude, callous breed who are
constantly jockeying for the upper hand.
While there certainly are both criminals
and uncivilized brutes in New York (and
other cities, too!), I have experienced
more random acts of kindness here than in
any other city I've lived in or visited.
The following are two notable examples:
As the mother of a
new baby, I am invariably laden
down with both the baby (who is
usually strapped to my chest in a
Bjorn baby carrier) and a diaper
bag containing an immense
assortment of baby paraphernalia,
each time I venture out for an
errand or appointment. And, so,
on a recent afternoon, as I
walked along a side street near
Bellevue Hospital, I was dismayed
when a stranger pointed out that
both of my shoes were untied,
realizing that 1) bending over to
retie them while wearing the baby
carrier was next to impossible,
2) taking off the baby carrier
would be awkward at best and that
once I did get it off, there was
no place secure to put my
precious little one, and 3) if I
proceeded to walk along with my
shoe laces untied, the chance
that I would trip, fall and
injure my baby was probably
somewhere in the range of 99%
certainty, given the effect of
the baby and the heavy diaper bag
on my sense of balance. As I
stood considering my options, the
gentleman who had originally
noticed my laces, graciously
offered to tie them for me. As he
bent over (politely inquiring if
I wanted double knots to ensure
the laces stayed secure), his
companion moved a few steps away
from me, as if to make sure that
I knew that this was not some
devious way to distract me while
I was stripped of my valuables by
a nimble pickpocket. Moments
later, I was on my way, with my
baby and all my possessions
intact, grateful for the
thoughtfulness of two New Yorkers
who recognized a potentially
dangerous situation for a new
mother and took the time to
correct it.
Although some people
claim there is a connection
between heat spells and crime
waves, I had one of my best
"nice New Yorker"
experiences on one of the hottest
days in recent memory, when the
thermometer topped 99o.
After a morning of running
errands, I was at my last stop,
the local post office, waiting in
line to buy stamps. The line was
long and the wait seemed
interminable, especially since
the air conditioning wasn't
working, but finally I found
myself at the front of the line.
Wanting the transaction to be
completed as quickly as possible,
I took my wallet out of my purse
and counted out the exact change
I would need for my purchase as
the customer in front of me
finished up with the postal
clerk. The next thing I knew, I
was lying on the floor.
Apparently, I had become
overheated and fainted.
When I tell people this story, it
is at this point that they always
interrupt, expressing their
assumption that when I came to,
my wallet (and possibly
everything else I had with me,
including my clothing) was gone.
Happily, this was not the case:
as I gained consciousness, one of
the post office employees ran to
get a chair for me, someone else
got me a cup of water, and still
others picked up my cash, wallet,
purse and parcels. Several people
offered to call a doctor or
ambulance, and when I refused
that, suggested that at the very
least, someone should walk me
home. Callous New Yorkers? I
don't think so!
