Tricks of the Trade

Last night I rushed out of my office at 5:30, and headed for the downtown Q. I had laundry to do, and had managed to scrape up some loose quarters from the office so I wouldn't have to break a $20 bill at the laundromat. As I entered the station at 16th street and Union Square West I saw an elderly man standing at the bottom of the stairs leaning on a cane and holding a cup. He wasn't alone, but had a second elderly gentleman with him to whom he was talking. As I walked past I reached in my pocket and put one of my quarters into his creased paper cup. He quickly grabbed it and put it in his pocket. At this point he leaned closer to his friend and explained, "see, that's whatchu gotta do. When you gets change yous gotta grab it real quick else it run away agin. Some kid might come by and steal the cup out your hand. Damn kids."

I lingered near the metrocard machine to listen to more of the conversation.

"Yous always stay on this side the park cuz the other side has the jew hospital, and those folks don't give nothing. This how it works here."

Clearly the receiver of this advice was new to panhandling in this station and the man with the cane was a seasoned veteran.

"Now when someone give you money you snatch it up real quick, cuz if people here see you got something they won't give. They see an empty cup and they think they the only one givin' to you."

Apparently these behaviors are specific to the Union Square subway station. I stood there for only a few minutes, but it was rush hour and scores of people pushed past the old pair while I watched and listened. Some were students, others were tourists, and still others were professionals, like me, rushing to the warmth of the underground in escape of the biting chill of January in New York. No one else bothered to deposit their loose change into the man's paper cup.

When I got to the laundromat I came up a quarter short to dry my clothes, but I felt better about breaking that $20.

Total Contribution: $0.25
Station: Union Square