In the heart of NYU territory, Washington Square Park is one of those great places to bring a book and some coffee, grab a bench, and engage in a bit of people watching. A couple of Sundays ago, I decided to take the scenic route through the park on the way to a friend's place. I saw the usual crowd -- bucket drummers, naked kids cooling off in the fountain, chess players at the corner tables, random pockets of guitarists jamming, the acapella singers, and, of course, the street dancers, who claim a patch of park and show off break dance and aerobatic moves to old school 80s music (any one in the mood for Beat It?).
However, this particular Sunday, I was surprised and delighted to find a new addition - the piano man!
Meet Colin Huggins, a.k.a. the "crazy piano guy", who wheels his (baby grand!) piano to Washington Square Park regularly to serenade passers-by with everything from Beethoven to The Beatles. (I am really not sure how I have gone a full year living a block away and not seen him before, I mean, I know I can be a little oblivious, but surely I would have noticed a full sized piano in the park...well, at least, I hope I would).
After some digging, I found out that back in 2007, Mr. Huggins was feeling a little bored with accompanying dance classes and decided to recapture his inner rock star by bringing a real piano into the park and playing whatever he felt like. Since then, he has played in public spaces all over the City - parks, street corners, even on the subway platform! The best part is that he is a fierce pianist - so if you are ever in the mood for a cheap concert, come to Washington Square Park some balmy weekend evening and look for the crazy piano guy.
Of course, I'm hoping that one of these days, I'll be in the right place at the right time to catch a subway performance or to see him transporting one of his pianos through the streets of New York.
ps - in case, you are curious, check out a video of him playing:
