In 2021, we shared news about the pandemic producing a golden age of stooping—where folks put furniture and other items they no longer want or need outside for others to take. I'm here to report that stooping is still going strong, and Instagram pages sharing stoop finds have proliferated. If you live in a big city, chances are you'll be able to find a local stooping site—so far I've found them for Toronto, Milan, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
One super active page is "StoopingNYC," which was created in the summer of 2019. Vogue explains:
The account is run by a couple based in Brooklyn who prefer to remain anonymous. The idea started thanks to their son, "a wonderful little guy with special needs who loves to take walks." Touring their neighborhood on foot, the family would "consistently see all these amazing treasures that people were just putting out on the curb waiting for somebody to collect, or for sanitation to take away." After they launched the account last July [2019] with plans to curate their own discoveries, it only took a week of posting for them to realize much of the scouting would be happily done by fellow New Yorkers. "The community grew quickly, and people were excited to not just be privy to the finds, but also to participate in the hunt," they share. "We receive upwards of 100 DMs some days, from people all around the five boroughs now. What started out as a hobby has become a real service to the community."
Some very recent gems posted on StoopingNYC that might still be available include this croissant couch, and this gorgeous orange velvet chair. Go grab them while you can! And check out the hashtag #stoopingsuccess to see treasures that folks have found!
