See each of the submitted stories below.
Christopher Yee Mon
Behavior
I cycle to work now and volunteer on the weekends
The idea occurred to me recently to try to start cycling from home to work instead of taking the train. I realized that I could get exercise instead of paying for the gym. I would be saving money, more so now that the subway fares have gone up, and I would be helping the environment since the carbon footprint of a cyclist is so small. The part that didn't seem so economically sound was buying a new bike, but hopefully it can pay for itself.
Also, I start to volunteer on the weekends with New York Cares if only because I want to assist someone who might be in a worse situation than myself and it makes me feel better about myself.
164 Weirfield Street, Brooklyn, NY
Mikey
Behavior
The Pool is Full
I used to go to the gym on Friday night because the pool was empty. Now it's packed on both Friday AND Saturday night. I guess it's cheaper (and healthier) to workout with a membership you've already paid for than to have dinner, a play, and cocktails.
McBurney YMCA
Arvid
Commerce
Back in Bay Ridge ...
Stores are almost creepily quiet, even during prime-time shopping hours. The big shopping strip (86th St.) lost some stores, but the real recession sign is store closings on 3rd and 5th Aves. - averaging two closings per block from 79-88 Sts., and far more from 60s to 79th.
86th St and 4th Ave., Brooklyn, NY
Dubai-Boy
Behavior
A Director offers FREE commercials to busineses!
Read an Ad on Craig's List where a film director is offering to produce commercial spots for FREE. As a former Agency Art Director who paid some directors hundreds of 1000s to shoot pizza - that's quite an Indicator!
CAROLA BURROUGHS
Commerce
food coop expansion
I joined the Park Slope Food Co-op last year and it was one of the best things I've ever done - the savings are enormous [although I usually shop too much as a result!]. The only problem is, so many new people are joining to save money that PSFC is bursting at the seams! But as a result, the co-op is assisting the growth of new & existing co-ops in other neighborhoods, such as Kalabash in central Brooklyn, which I've also joined. We get PSFC work credits for working at Kalabash.
782 Union Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215
RoughAcres
Housing
Homeless Woman
For the past few months, this woman has been a semi-permanent resident in the 181st Street station of the "A" train in Washington Heights.
She was hanging out in our co-op lobby, but the board hired a security guard after she used our vestibule as a restroom.
There is an increasing number of homeless in WaHi. Many more beggars are in front of the bodegas here, and there are higher numbers of those using the 181st Street station (and our building's vestibule) as their home.
181st Street station of the "A", 181st Street & Fort Washington Avenue
Chris
Behavior
reductions in spending
Families have been forced to pull their children out of the daycare center my daughter attends because of the cost.
Martin Lubin
Commerce
My UEI (Uncommon Economic Indicator)
About a year and a half ago, I counted thirty-something shoe stores on the stretch of 14th Street between 6th Ave. and University Place. Last week I counted nine.
I must say that nine seems to me more in keeping with society's real need for shoes than thirty-whatever.
14th Street, University Place
Dawn Ortell
Commerce
Unusual Economic Indicators
Saw a flyer on the Stop 'n Shop bulletin board for a used C230 Mercedes ... yikes ... it used to be that only train cars were advertised there (Madison, NJ)
Madison, NJ
Ciesse Q.
Commerce
Runway Couture Out; Bailed-Out Bank In.
I regularly wait for the bus across the street from the darkly gleaming, formidably spare bi-level Jil Sander store on Madison between E 79th & 80th. In recent weeks a new CitiBank branch has moved in.
I always looked upon that Jil Sander storefront with a mixture of serene aesthetic appreciation and bitter class-consciousness: the designs are almost egalitarian in their minimalism, the prices extravagant and thus far from affordable. Now that a bailed out bank rolls out yet another spanking new branch, it's hard to decide which business is the more unaffordable -- though I've no doubt which I prefer to have stayed.
1042 Madison St., New York, NY
Matt
Behavior
Auction
I didn't have time to check them out, but I passed on 8th st. two signs of empty looking stores saying "public auction inside." Anybody else see them? 8th between 5th and 6th.
Matt
Commerce
Consumer confidence still shaky
Yesterday my doorman pointed to the morning's UPS & FedEx deliveries -- 6 packages. Normally our building receives 70-80 packages on a Monday morning. Looks like we're still in trouble.
730 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10025-6685
Jessie Mathisen
Commerce
Businesses Get Super Cautious
I own a tutoring agency, New York Academics, and although I haven't lost a single old students to the economy, getting new students has been tough. Thus, I've been working on a few new marketing ideas. My favorite is a child/teen-oriented coupon booklet.
The way it will work is that each participating business will submit a coupon, they will all be put together in a booklet, and then each business will distribute the booklets to their current clients. The only fee to participate is to cover printing costs, and will be under $100.
When I approach business owners, their initial reaction is almost always positive- usually along the lines of "Wow, what a good idea!". But, they are hesitant to participate, and the $100 is generally the sticking point.
Now, I started New York Academics in 2004, and I've tried quite a few types of advertising. $100 (or less)is cheap! I believe that business owners reluctance to risk a Benjamin is an example of how cautious people have recently become about spending money.
Jean Lerner
Bright
Grow your own
When my vegetable garden seeds didn't arrive after three weeks I called the seed company. They said that they'd gotten so many orders this year that they had to hire extra people to handle the volume. Apparently, people are opting to grow their own vegetables to save money. So, it seems that at least some companies are doing well and hiring personnel!
Jill Feyer
Behavior
Holding on tight...
Everyone is holding on to things in more aggressive fashion. I used to find metrocards and bags of good, sport equipment and household items on the streets of SOHO and surrounding area on a regular basis. My closet is full of designer names, skis and snowboards, but no more and I haven't seen a metrocard since October. sigh...
Soho, East Village
Christopher Gardner
Behavior
Snow-birds not fleeing
I spoke with my Hamptons shipper this morning who said that 26 of his 26 regular NYC/Hamptons/Florida clients DID NOT EVEN GO. He has been in the industry a long time with loyal clients. Many closed their Hamptons homes for the winter too.
Very surprising behavior. His name is Richard Almonte of Morel Enterprises. Very nice guy.
Park Avenue, Upper East Side
D
Employment
Peace Corp: was it worth it?
I gave up a decent paying and fun job in 2006 (building dinosaurs for natural history museums) to do something that I had wanted to do for a long time- I joined the Peace Corps. This decision was based on both a lust for adventure and to build a foundation for a career in development work.
Sending out resumes since my return from Africa in September, I sent out an email offering a $500 reward for anyone who finds me a job with benefits. Of course, no one wants the reward but the offer does get attention and makes it more clear how desperate one can be to get a job, even one that pays much less than a previous job. I got a lot of feed back and even reconnected with some long lost friends. I ask myself, was the Peace Corps worth it? I thought I would have opportunities upon my return. After all, I want to work in philanthropy. Well, yes, despite being unemployed still, it was worth it. If I hadn't seen such resilience in Africa to hopeless job opportunities, and how people in the developing world do not consider their job titles as their complete identity, I may be pretty miserable by now. I am somewhat comparing apples and oranges because of the inevitable stigma placed on the unemployed in this country. We are an individualist society, a painfully lonely reality in this crisis. For survival, we should look to the survivors. It takes a village.
315 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Shelley
Bright
Help with a smile
When I occasionally visit Dunkin' Donuts in an afternoon I see people "dressed for success" and reading want ads or checking resumes online. One woman, a stranger, began talking to me. She couldn't say these things at home - single mom - and needed to un-burden. She has found me there several times now. If you smile, encouragingly, people will talk to you, and know it will go no further. It costs me nothing, and I think they need it.
Union Turnpike, 188 Street
J.P.
Employment
less commuters in the morning
I've been commuting from the Nostrand Ave. A train stop in Brooklyn to Manhattan for four years. Usually, the trains coming into the Nostrand station alternate between very crowded and moderately full, i.e. if a train arriving is too crowded to board, the next train will probably have plenty of room. Normally, the crowded train is totally packed to the gills and only fiercest Nostrand commuters attempt to board. These days, by the time the “crowded” train gets to my stop it is still crowded but not full to capacity. No violence required to hop on and there is elbow room
1240 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11216
