Many of you Pandas know the phrase that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. But for some, this might seem like just a metaphor. Well, there’s one internet project that proves how true the saying is in real life.
‘Stooping NYC,’ the brainchild of an anonymous couple from Brooklyn, is a massively popular Instagram page that is dedicated to an old tradition in the Big Apple—leaving unwanted things, quirky items, and furniture on the curb for others to bring back home. We’ve collected the freshest and most awesome photos of stooped stuff, as featured on the account, to share with you Pandas. Check them out below and don’t forget to upvote the items you loved the most.
Meanwhile, be sure not to miss Bored Panda’s interview with the friendly founders of the project! You’ll find their thoughts as you scroll down.
#1 This Is Everything! 68th At And Madeline Ct In Bay Ridge
Image credits: stoopingnyc
Bored Panda was interested in getting the founders’ perspective on why the ‘Stooping NYC’ Instagram account appeals not only to New Yorkers but also to people living elsewhere in the US and even other parts of the world.
“New York City is a main character in and of itself,” they told us.
“As the account has grown, we’ve been able to not just show some of the amazing treasures from across the 5 boroughs, but also incredible stooping successes, also giving followers a peak into how New Yorkers live,” they said.
“Because of that, I think the concept continues to appeal to those inside and outside of the city.”
#2 Holy Hot Pink Magic. E 13th St Btwn Ave A And B
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#3 The Note Says, “Sadly Our Cat Rejected It! Recommended On Wirecutter”
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The couple running the project highlighted the fact that they’re very careful about what stooped items they feature on the account.
“We try our best to only post pieces that look like they are still in decent condition and could be great for a new home,” they told Bored Panda.
“In addition, we stay away from things like mattresses, knowing that we don’t have the full history and want to ensure that the items people grab are fit to be rehomed.”
#4 No Idea What To Say Here So… Caption Contest!! At Hart And Knickerbocker
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#5 Excuse Me While I Have Nightmares For The Rest Of My Life… On The Corner Of Nostrand And Lincoln
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#6 Wow. Someone Please Work Your Magic. 20th St Between 5th And 6th Ave
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Meanwhile, we were curious about what advice they’d give someone who’s just moved to NYC and would love to take part in the stooping tradition and find some furniture. They were happy to share a few handy tips.
“First, follow @stoopingnyc on IG, turn your notifications on to ensure you’re alerted to the best finds as they’re posted and finally get ready to run when you see something that catches your eye!” they urged people not to dawdle.
#7 The Vibes Are Immaculate. Macon Street / Lewis And Marcus Garvey
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#8 Umm… I’ll Take Your Word For It. This Is On Scholes And Bushwick In Bk
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#9 Someone Tell My Upstairs Neighbor That Apartment-Friendly Drums Exist. Corner Of Jane Street And Hudson
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The idea behind stooping is a fairly straightforward one. Essentially, when you’ve grown tired of a piece of furniture, item of decor, or anything else in your home, you bring it outside and place it on the curb.
Then, strangers will walk by, eye the stooped items, and take anything that they really like with them, giving these things a chance at a second (or third, or fourth!) life. The ‘Stooping NYC’ project documents the most impressive finds and also helps spread the word about some of the freshest treasures that folks noticed around the metropolis.
Nearly 8.5 million people live in New York City as of 2023, which means that lots of furniture and random stuff gets thrown out and adopted every single day. Having a project like ‘Stooping NYC’ pinpointing the best, quirkiest, and most unique items is invaluable.
#10 Now This Is A NYC Stoop! Broadway Posters Of Wicked, Lion King, Phantom, And Book Of Mormon. 86th Between Columbus And Central Park West!
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#11 Cpw And West 83rd Right Now!
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#12 Stoop Concert…but Also, Respect Your Neighbors. Free Piano On Columbus, Between W83rd And W84th
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At the time of writing, ‘Stooping NYC’ had 459k followers on Instagram. However, as the project continues to grow by leaps and bounds since its creation in 2019, more people spot these tips in the page’s stories. And so the competition for each item becomes even fiercer than before. You’ve got to be incredibly agile if you want to claim the crème de la crème.
“Stooping is so popular in NYC because it really is an activity that’s built into the culture of being a New Yorker. Unlike other cities, New York is transient and that means that people are always moving. No one apartment is quite like another, and so this activity of putting items that no longer fit/serve a need is something that has long existed,” the couple behind ‘Stooping NYC’ shared with Bored Panda during an earlier interview.
#13 Raise Your Hand If You Grew Up With One Of These In Your House. Wait… Nobody? I’m Old. 11th St Between 4th Ave And 3rd Ave
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#14 Possibly The Best Stoop Model Ever. 7th Street Just Above 5th Ave In Park Slope
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#15 Does Anyone Have A Good Caption For A Sheep Table Or Bench In Brooklyn Heights? 20 Pierrepont
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According to the project founders, they tried to gamify stooping, turning it into a scavenger hunt of sorts. Back in 2021, they shared that on a typical weekday, they’d get hundreds, sometimes even a thousand submissions about stooped stuff from their followers. This number of messages has only increased as the account drew in additional fans.
The couple told Bored Panda that their followers tend to love “anything high value, super colorful, unique, and weird.” They said that this means they prioritize everything from “beautiful velvet couches, neon-colored swivel chairs, copper claw-foot tubs, beanie baby collections” to pastel pink SMEG fridges and even VHS tapes from the bygone ‘90s.
#16 Holy Claw Foot Tub! 124 Myrtle In Clinton Hill
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#17 Excuse Me While I Recover From The Epicness Of This! 2 Gorgeous Unbroken Mirrors At Cooper And Wilson In Bushwick!
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#18 Cutest Tea Set Ever. Corner Of Linden St And 60th In Ridgewood
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“We both really love the creative outlet this gives us, as a couple we love the fact that we have this together (we end each day with a ‘stoop review’), and more than anything we love the community we have built. So we definitely feel an obligation to that community to keep up with everything coming in, knowing that we have the privilege of giving people so much joy through what we post,” the project founders shared with us earlier.
#19 Damn! On St Marks Between Under Hill And Washington
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#20 We Can’t Believe Our Eyes. Elliot Pl & Dekalb
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#21 Cat Post Of Their Dreams! This Is On 29th And 3rd Ave!
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“Early on, we found a beautiful antique typewriter on the stoop that we brought home for a friend. But aside from that, we really stick to the ‘Stoop Laws’ we have created: we never go get something before it’s been posted, we only post what’s already out on the stoop and we never hold items for specific stoopers,” they said.
“On a daily basis though, there are items we post that we absolutely would love to be lucky enough to get (if we ever had a place large enough to fit it all),” the couple said.
#22 Stooper Caption! “This Looks Like It Was Made By Someone Relatively Skilled, But Completely Unhinged. On Troutman St. Between Knickerbocker & Irving
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#23 Should We Have A “Creepiest Stoops” Competition? This Is Certainly In The Running. 30th St Between 3rd & 2nd Ave
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#24 Never Thought I’d Call A Shelf Cute…on The Corner Of Kane And Strong In Cobble Hill
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During another interview with Bored Panda, the dynamic duo said that they absolutely love the community that formed around their Instagram account. “We love this community and the positivity it puts out into the world.” They added that the growth of the project has been amazing and gives them “so much joy.”
The couple also shared their thoughts on why folks follow the page. “From those who follow us and stoop as a means to save items from landfills, to those grabbing goods out of nostalgia (having thrifted as kids), to people who want the most unique apartments with money-can’t-buy pieces, to those who love the gamification of a real-time scavenger hunt across the city,” they said.
#25 We’ve Seen The Heel Chair Before… But Never In Pink! Parkside Ave Btwn Bedford And Rogers
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#26 I Will Sit In This Chair And Read Sophisticated Literature. Or You Can. 785 Dekalb In Bk
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#27 Go. Go. Go. Sullivan Btwn Rogers & Nostrand In Crown Heights!
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“Additionally, we have created content segments that make Stooping NYC an easy and exciting account to follow from afar, with fans in Europe, Canada, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Australia, and Asia following every #stoopingsuccess to be a voyeur into the way New Yorkers live,” they added, mentioning the global success the project has had.
#28 This Is Not A Drill. Obscene Amount Of Free Chairs On Atlantic Av Between New York Ave And Brooklyn Ave
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#29 Which Barbie Lived Here? 88th And Central Park West
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#30 Sunday Funday Elevated. This Is Out At 85 Franklin St . Broadway And Church It Works And Has Power Supply And Harnesses
Image credits: stoopingnyc
We’d love to hear which of the stooped items in this list you loved the most, Pandas. Share your thoughts in the comments. Meanwhile, for some more dazzling Big Apple treasures featured on the ‘Stooping NYC’ Instagram page, be sure to check out Bored Panda’s earlier articles about the massively successful project.
#31 Stoop Of The Moment. Been A Bunch Of These. Aka Don’t Let Your Friends Buy One. Oak And Metal In Great Shape! 264 E 10th St
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#32 While You Were Sleeping, Spongebob Stooped Basically All Of Bikini Bottom. I Also Had No Idea He Lived In Bk. 327 Franklin Avenue
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#33 Plant Or Shelf… Or If You Hustle Both! Riverside And 85th
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#34 Look Closely… Washington And Park Pl In Bk (Glass!)
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#35 Guys! Great Haul! Pratt Giving Away Lots Of Art, Stools, Desks And Printers For Free. 14th St Btw 7th And 6th
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#36 And Now Barbie’s Replacing Her Bike For A Peloton? Come On Barbie. On State Street Between Court And Boreum
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#37 Can’t Wait For The Stooping Success! (We Better Be Invited)
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#38 Is The Giant Lemon Slice Attached To The Bar Cart, Orrrr Just An Added Bonus?! You Tell Us! On Central Near Willoughby In Bushwick
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#39 This Is Not A Promotion For The New Barbie Movie ! Really It’s Not. In Front Of 88 Rivington St
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#40 Truly An Embarrassment Of Riches. 85th And East End!
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#41 Such Good Lighting. 43 W 75th
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#42 Not Your Grandma’s Quilt… But Possibly Her Couch 1588 York Ave (Between 83/84)
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#43 Ummm… So This Is Incredible. Needs New Glass But Otherwise We’re Obsessed. 1340 Jefferson Ave In Bushwick!
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#44 These Are A Statement! In Williamsburg On North 9th Between Driggs & Bedford
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#45 Anyone Else Been Searching For An Area Rug Shaped Like A Man Eating Ramen? Just Me? Grattan St In Between Knickerbocker And Porter
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#46 Musicians!!!!! Free Amps At 366 W 118th St
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#47 Hi Free Including Vase Outside 73 Skillman Avenue Between Lorimer And Leonard
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#48 Neighbors And Parents Always Hate Us When We Post Drum Sets. 30 Butler St
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#49 Stacked Washer And Dryer. Who’s Going To Find Out For Us If It Works??? 63 Roebling
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#50 Favorite Nick Cage Movie… Go!
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#51 In Most Parts Of America This Is Simply A Ping Pong Table… In NYC, It’s A Ping Pong Table, A Dining Room Table And Your Home Office Desk All In One! 77th Between First And York
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#52 Well This Is The Most Frightening Morning Stoop I’ve Ever Posted. Someone Please Explain!!!
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#53 Tag An Artist!!!! Canvases, Good Paper, Oil Paints, Acrylics, Watercolors, Paint Brushes, Easels, Frames, Plexiglass, Turps, Art Supplies Galore! 74th Between Amsterdam And Columbus
Image credits: stoopingnyc
#54 Woah! Mega Monstera Corner Of Houston And Thompson
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#55 Indoor And Outdoor Seating Sorted In One Stoop!! North 5th Btwn Berry And Wythe
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#56 Lover Cabinets? Corner Of Sterling And Vanderbilt, Prospect Heights
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#57 The Most NYC Looking Haul! Prospect Park South – Coney Island Ave & Hinckley Pl
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#58 This Cat House Would Cost You 4.8m If It Were For A Human. Convent Between W 126 And W127
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#59 What A Great Lineup! Grand + Norfolk! Kettlebells, Photo Prints In Nice Frames, Small Side / Entryway Table
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#60 Your Studio Apt Is Waiting For You…in Front Of 100 Ainslie St In Williamsburg
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#61 For Our Bill Murray Stans Out There!! Greenpoint, Freeman Btwn Manhattan And Franklin
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#62 Hit Me Baby One More Time!
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#63 Oh God. Someone Please Id People. 32nd Between 6th And 7th Ave
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#64 So I Think This Table Is Actually Sideways But I Still Think You Should Only Get This If Your Name Starts With M. W82 And Amsterdam
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#65 Looks Like The Top Strap Needs A Little Fixing But Also Looks Totally Worth It! 135th Between Broadway & Riverside!
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#66 Gen-Zs… I Beg Of You… Put Down The Spray Foam… 643 Prospect Place
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#67 Disco Mirror!! Murray Hill- 38th Between 1st & 2nd Ave
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#68 I Think A Question Needs To Be Asked… What Does It Mean That Someone Threw This Out? 15th And 2nd
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#69 What Is This? Lies Only. Ave A Between Houston & 2nd St
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