35 Pics Of The Best Things New Yorkers Threw Away Into The Streets For Others To Take

There’s no question that New York City is a place unlike any other. Home to nearly 20 million people, the Big Apple is a bustling city full of culture. Here, you can visit some of the best museums the world has to offer, catch an incredibly Broadway show, see your favorite band play live (as they’re not going to skip NYC on their tour), have a thousand different culinary experiences and make a stop in Central Park for some peace, quiet and fresh air.

And one of the most special things NYC has to offer is the culture of stooping. Now, I grew up in a city in Texas where it was common for people to leave unwanted furniture on the sidewalk outside of their homes too. But it was a lot trickier to catch something good, as you had to know where to go. However, in New York, there are millions of people packed into only 469 square miles and thousands of people walking down every street at all hours of the day, which means it’s the perfect place to find stooping gold. 

The Stooping NYC Instagram account has been around since July 2019, and it has amassed an impressive 473k followers due to how great the page’s content is. The account, which is run anonymously by a Brooklyn couple, is dedicated to sharing amazing finds that pop up all over the city, so locals can go pick up gems for free.

We're big fans of Stooping NYC here at Bored Panda, and lucky for us, we were able to get in touch with the couple who runs the page to ask a couple of questions about how stooping has been lately. First, we wanted to know if they're still surprised by what they find, or if they have seen everything at this point. "We definitely have not seen it all! It’s NYC, and people are so creative and unique," the couple shared.

"We continue to be astounding by new items just like the readers are!" the expert stoopers told Bored Panda. "The recent collection of curated pieces by @taybeepboop for Facebook’s event was incredible… As were the #stoopingsuccess of them from the amazing stoopers who got the items!"

We also asked the couple if there's anything in particular they're on the hunt for when out stooping. "I don’t think we’ve ever thought of it that way. We’re not really looking for any items, we’re more looking for things that are super useful to people, amazing additions to people’s homes or fun for us to write captions and storytell against!" they told Bored Panda.

Finally, the stooping experts added that they would love to be sent more stooping successes. "That’s our favorite part!" they shared.

Aside from the obvious plus of getting home goods for free, stooping can be a great way to help out the planet too. Overconsumption is a huge issue nowadays, from purchasing too much IKEA furniture to buying fast fashion clothing that will only last one season. The more we can cut down on buying new, and instead focus on reusing what’s already in existence, the more we can cut down on our environmental impact as well. After all, who would want to buy a brand new dresser when there’s a perfectly good one sitting out on the street?

If you live in NYC, or another stooping-friendly city, and you’re looking for advice on how to find the best treasures your home has to offer, the New York Times has provided some tips. In NYC specifically, residents are only allowed to place bulk items on the street from 4 p.m. to midnight the night before trash is collected, so that’s usually a great time to check. But it’s also wise to keep an eye out at the end of any month, when people tend to move, and over the weekends when residents have enough time on their hands to get items outside.  

There are also certain neighborhoods that are better for stooping than others. For example, the Upper East Side in NYC is well known for having amazing stooping finds. But every neighborhood will have different items, and every resident will have their own opinions on where the best places to check out are. Dumbo in Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens are other notable areas to visit, the New York Times suggests.  

There’s also certain stooping etiquette that you’ll want to know when going out searching for your own goods. For example, if you come across an item with pieces missing, such as drawers, that may be a sign that someone has claimed it and will be coming back to get it. And unless an item is clearly on the curb, don’t take it. You should also be ready to pay anyone who’s around to help you relocate a large or heavy item. 

We hope you’re enjoying this virtual walk through the streets of NYC, pandas! Keep upvoting the items you’d be thrilled to come across, and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever found anything fantastic on the street in your own city. Then, if you’d like to check out even more photos from Stooping NYC, we recommend reading this Bored Panda article next!