We’ve all got a tale or two to tell about life in the big city. It can be as challenging as it is beautiful. Bellow are 5 unbelievable true stories from the city that never sleeps. Do you have a story better than these? Send it to us at hello@secternyc.co
Subway danger?
One night, around midnight, I was riding the 6 train up to Grand Central. There were only a couple other people in the subway car, when three sketchy-looking young black dudes walk through the door connecting the car to the next one. They weren’t dressed especially well, but what really made me uneasy was their body language; they looked a little tense and uncomfortable. I tightened my grip on my messenger bag and started trying to figure out how long we had until the next station.
As I watched, they nervously made eye contact with one another, nodded, and suddenly burst into perfect three-part harmony. Motown. Function at the Junction. – catsclaw
TL;DR: He thought he was going to get mugged by subway singers.
A new friend
Kew Gardens, the early 1980s: around five o’clock in the morning, a bunch of us stopped in 7/11 on the way home from the local bar. There in the store is a guy wearing a full kilt and carrying a bagpipe. His name was Colin.
We invited Colin back to our apartment and had an impromptu bagpipe concert as the sun came up. The neighbors really, really hated us. – AMerrickanGirl
Calm Cabbie
It was 2:00 am, and I was in a cab heading home on 1st ave through the upper east side/Spanish Harlem area. […] We get out in front of a cluster of cars, all green lights in sight, when suddenly a man jumps out into the avenue a couple blocks ahead and starts sprinting straight towards us in the middle of the road. A second later a cop car comes fishtailing around the corner also going the wrong direction, straight towards us. Another police car comes screeching in from the other side of the road and then another one from behind us and to the right.
My cab slams on his breaks at an intersection as this man stops his sprint just a few yards in front of our car and is caught deer-in-the-headlights style. He looks panicked, exhausted, but totally sane. He stares at us for a brief second before turning his head to look behind him just in time to see the cop tackling him to the ground. All traffic is stopped and the road is now completely blocked by police cars and bright flashing blue and white lights. Two other police come in and cuff the guy.
I am in shock. The cabbie starts turning left, looks back at me and says as calm as can be, “well I guess we have to go this way.” – mysticRight
TL;DR: He saw a police chase in front of his cab… the cabbie was unphased.
porn shop
Back when I was around 16 or 17 my friend and I were in a porn shop near Times Square. This guy comes out of the back carrying a laptop. he comes up to me and says “hey kid take this laptop outside and give it to the man standing out there. I’ll give you a free porno video.”
I declined but my friend did it. Nothing bad happened and we got a free VHS porno but it was really creepy. – XmertonX
Coffee obstacle
It was Sunday morning around 1 pm and I was severely hung. I walked down to my local bodega to get a cup of coffee. My bodega is on a corner and has a single door entrance. There’s a guy on his cell phone blocking this one lone door and I give him the look of death. He moves out of the way, I shoulder my way in, and BAM! Dead guy sprawled out on his back on the floor, Bubblelicious strewn about his feet from where he had tried to clutch the counter as he went down. It appeared to be natural causes as there’s no blood or guts. I then take a second to listen and realize the “douche” at the door is actually on the phone with 911 so turns out he’s a good Samaritan and I’m the a-hole. Well now I’m trapped in this store with a few other people as the good guy can only get cell reception when he’s in the doorway and I’d have to push past him to get out. I hesitate for a moment but since I’m essentially trapped in the store anyways, what’s it gonna matter? I tip toe up to the counter (and around the dead guy), and whisper, “Large coffee light and sweet please.” Guy behind the counter actually looks relieved to be doing something and the other trapped customers begin to make their way to the front as well. As soon as the Samaritan is off his phone, I bolt out of the store.
The weirdest thing was that for the next 3 days I had no hot water in my apartment. Landlord and repair man couldn’t figure it out as the pilot light for the water heater just kept getting blown out. I think it was the dead guy. It finally stopped when he came to realize that I would never ever forget the man that dropped dead in the corner store and had eternal life in at least my memory. – kasperbk
TL;DR: He walked around a dead guy to buy coffee.
Do you have a story better than these? Send it to us at hello@secternyc.co
Featured image source [Wikimedia Commons]