The Bowery (where this piece is from), is definitely a place where people could use some good old fashioned salvation from Jesus. Just take a look at our new favorite book, “Flophouse, Life on the Bowery”, a collection of short stories about the people living in skid row, written by David Isay and Stacey Abramson. You probably don’t know what a flophouse is, because they barely exist anymore. It’s a hotel, but not your typical Four Seasons or Marriot. These places will charge $5-10 a night and have mostly long-term stays. This metal piece stayed lit in the hallway of a flophouse, to provide some sort of salvation for the customers.
These two documentarians went to the flophouses and interviewed some of the fine connoisseurs of these establishments. Take a look at what these gentlemen had to say:
“I started sniffing glue when I was ten. There were these kids from Brooklyn that I was hanging out with, and they got me into it. I’m pretty sure it gave me brain damage”
“Now I have a little bit of a weight problem. It would never seem like I’m 425 pounds, but I am. Sometimes I knock off a 26-ounce can of Chef Boyardee ravioli. That’s for five people in the family!”
The stories go on and on. Sadly, these flophouses are closing, and will soon be a part of history, along with this cross.