New Yorkers have a reputation for resilience — an ability to bounce back quickly in the face of difficulty — and often, they do it with signature irreverence and style.
On Manhattan’s Gay Street, a quiet residential street in Greenwich Village, residents and neighbors displayed their own resilience and positivity this month in the face of a perplexing — and likely insulting — art project.
Micah Latter, a resident of the street, said that on April 14 (Good Friday, in Christianity), someone chained a giant wooden cross to the iron gates in front of people’s homes, according to Popsugar.
The cross was interpreted by residents as a symbol of homophobia because of its placement on Gay Street — which has basically nothing to do with the city’s gay neighborhoods or culture except for being located nearby.
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Latter and her neighbors didn’t like the message that was coming across, so they decided to change it.
"As a Christian, the cross is a sign of love, peace, and hope and it was clear the mysterious owner of the cross was not sharing those same values," Latter said to Popsugar. "It was unsettling that the owner's intentions were not sincere."
A few days later, Latter invited her neighbors to join her in putting their own, inclusive spin on the cross.
"We're rainbow painting the cross. I'll bring paint and Champagne for anyone that can make it," Latter texted her neighbors.
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The neighborhood was immediately on board with the plan: 50 people came out, including residents and passers-by, to transform the cross into a sign of the street’s values.
"My favorite part of the event were locals sharing the experience with strangers. We had two tourists from Brazil stay for the entire painting; we had kids skateboarding by stop to paint; we had many straight couples, gay couples, and a transgender couple all sit, paint, talk, and stand in the street sharing stories," said Latter. "It was a magical NYC moment."
To ensure their new symbol remained in place, the Gay Street crew padlocked the rainbow cross to the street and put super glue in the keyhole of the old lock, ensuring the original owner couldn’t come move it.