Stoop-pendous: How one Brooklyn woman is uniting her community right from her own stoop
It’s 7:30 am Thursday morning in Clinton Hill and the neighborhood is alive and buzzing with activity. Some people are sneaking in a quick jog before heading to the office, while others are already dressed, briefcase in hand, making their way to the train. Dogs bark at one another, motorcycles whiz by, skateboards thud against the cracked sidewalks and the urban sounds of car alarms and cabbies honking all dull the sound of the birds chirping in nearby trees.
A noisy garbage truck comes to a screeching halt in front of 453 Washington Ave. and a sanitation worker jumps off the back, ready to collect the trashcans and dump their crude contents into the mouth of the compactor. Suddenly, his partner, who is behind the wheel, begins silently but energetically waving at him, beckoning him toward the cab of the truck. The driver presses his finger to his lips, shushing the man librarian-style, motioning him to get back on the truck and abandon the task at hand. The man, a bit confused, stops in mid-action and then turns around to see 21 people sitting silently with their eyes closed on a wide brownstone stoop just a few feet in front of him. He abruptly turns and tiptoes backward to the truck, the way someone might leave a sleeping baby’s room so as not to wake it. He leaves the trash behind to pick up later.