Gawker
Last night, Ryan trailed Gawker's latest research project: the ultimate guide to New York's modern eccentrics. Thanks for all your suggestions in the comments; here are the nominations, 23 of the city's most obviously bizarre characters—including "Elegant" Eliot Offen, the Green Lady, Mr. Purple and the Earth Angel, but not counting the socialites and proto-celebrities who usually clog up these pages. We'll do some digging for photographs over the weekend. Any pointers—names, further description, links or images—would be much appreciated.
- The black woman who paints dots on all of her homeless baggage & her clothes—could be modern art...always in the subways
- The older woman with large glasses/sunglass and a mini-keyboard playing the "girl from ipanema" - there are usually stuffed animals around
- What about that guy, who's always in the parades, who has a multicolored beard and wears women's costumes, and flounces down the street pushing his little dog in a baby carriage with a parrot on his shoulder? he's awesome.
- You MUST included "Elegant" Eliot Offen, of leotard-wearing UES fame. Although his amateur status might be in jeopardy due to appearances on Howard Stern, there's nothing quite like seeing a sweaty guy jogging around in women's lingerie.
- There once was a wheelchair-bound paraplegic on the UWS who used to decorate his chair colorfully and park himself on streetcorners and ask passers-bye to help him empty his urine collection bag.
- My personal favorite is the one I lovingly think of as "The Green Lady", she works in the fashion district as a buyer I think. She must be over 70 years of age, tiny frame, voice like Glenda the Good Witch, and absolutely everything on her from her hair (in two top knots) to her shoes, to her rucksack is bright green. Sweetheart of a woman.
- Is Mr. Purple from the Upper West Side still around? I first saw him in 1978 on West 86th St. He wore flowing purple robes and a live boa constrictor wrapped around his neck and waist and he rode a purple bike. He was tall, thin and had long blond hair. He asked my mother out on a date and she actually went.
- The Earth Angel is a freak of nature who frequents the 6 train and various buses. He was written up in AM New York in early April. This guy gets on the train - with hair down to his ass - holding a folder in front of his face that he calls his forcefield. He claims to have been sent to Earth to find the angels - which, conveniently, are always hot chicks.
- Black Rodney does an outstanding Rodney Dangerfield impression. He even makes up his own Dangerfield-style jokes. If you let him, he'd tell you the story about how Rodney Dangerfield was his biggest inspiration, because one day he watched a whole bunch of Dangerfield movies and was deeply moved.
- There is the upper east side jogger freako. He is constantly jogging up and down 2nd avenue wearing what looks like womens see through nude pantyhose, and nothing on underneath. So it's kind of like he's naked, but you cant really make out his privates because they are all pushed down and in from the tights!
- OH! How could I forget the BIRDMAN! This guy was definitely written up in the Post a year ago. He run's around manhattan flapping his arms and making bird noises. Apparently he's not completely gone - he's just REALLY into birds.
- Have you ever seen Thoth ? He's a street performer who "heals through divine prayformance." Seen around Central Park sometimes, usually in a loingcloth, usually under an arch or bridge somewhere. Has a made up language he sings in, and claism to have a secret underwater world or something that he travels to via a giant turtle.
- Muscley-man in suit with tattoo'd face. this dude gets on the subway at wall street most mornings, has a fully shaved and tatted head and face and stretched earlobes... other than that he looks like every other person headed to midtown corporate offices and he even rocks a bow-tie.
- How about the guy I see on 6th Ave. near 23rd, has rainbow colored hair often in pigtails, a long beard, usually wears gold/silver dresses or hot pants and tights with sunglasses on. He has a small white dog also dyed rainbow colors. Rainbow man, perhaps?
- How could the old dude who salsa dances with the blow up doll not be on this list?! He has been taping that doll to his body for years and I have avoided transfer at Union Square just so I don't have to see adoring tourists cooing over him.
- How about the opera singer/religious nut who is usually on 57th on the block just west of Carnegie Hall? (I haven't seen him recently so I hope he is ok!) He was parked there every day when I had my very first job at Hearst in about 1984! We could hear him through the window on the 8th (estimate) floor. He would sing this very dramatic opera and sometimes run at your with a cup. Over the years his performance seems to become more about religion and less about the arts.
- My all time favorite was a guy named "Metal Mike" who used to scream "HEY, I"M EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE BUM!" He would hang around the Bowery in the late nineties. One time he gave me his business card. Another time I was on a street corner and his cell phone rang (before I had a cell phone, mind you). He said, "Hey, what's up body? ...Nothing, nothing, just working..."
- I like the homeless polka dot lady who paints dots on all of her clothes and anything she may be carrying. She's frequently on the move as I have seen her all over brooklyn and manhattan.
- My favorite- the elderly super skinny man who is covered head to toe in tattoos who marches up and down first avenue in a jaunty leather hat and plaid golf shorts.
- There's an African-American gentlemen dressed entirely in white (with swastikas on the sleeves, IIRC) who dolorously panhandles in Greenwich Village. I believe he was profiled in Time Out NY not too long ago. He's quite a sight.
- The homeless lady who wears only a garbage bag in the summer. The tourists fall for it hook, line and sinker. She can usually be found on 57th Street on a hot summer day.
- Stringy, strung-out, weathered, old bike messenger who wears a vest and a top hat and curses loudly, scarily, and copiously at everything that comes into his smack-addled line of sight! A.K.A. Keith Richards on Wheels Guy. There may be a skull and crossbones on his topper.
- There is this guy on Broome street who wears a whole garbage bag outfit AND reads the newspaper upside down! He spit at my co-worker one morning....I have to get a picture of him. It's unreal.
Comments
Dunno if it's the same guy, but "Rainbow Man" sounds a lot like a guy who's always outside Shea Stadium before games- last week he was dyed neon green, and the dog matched.
You've got to put in some bullet points or something to break this up, it's like trying to read a the first draft of a beat novel.
Swear to X that Birdman was shadowing my schedule for a good three weeks last September.
I would see him every few days in completely different parts of Manhattan.
Also -who the hell is crazy bad dye job redhaired bob lady who makes 'blush circles' and wears Kabookie lipstick?
Earth Angel is AMAZING. he gets really pissed when you make eye contact, too.
Crap I missed this. Does anyone know the old blind black guy who rides the N/R/W and walks through the cars singing amazing grace?
Also, the dude who rocks the electric violin (he's usually playing Sweet Child O' Mine) in the Grand Central subway?
there is an asian woman in the east village i've seen for years who i call the rainbow lady. everything from head to toe is multicolor and drapey, and she always wears a matching multi-hued visor.
Is it true that 57th street garbage bag lady owns a brownstone in Harlem?
What about the "alien" guy who rides the subway and recites a prepared speech about being sent from his home planet to study Earth. He wears all sorts of multicolored clothes and hair accessories, usually complete with antenna! He then plays a crazy saxaphone solo and says he needs fuel to get back to his home planet. His fuel being money of course!
How about the purple lady, purple hair, clothes, who sings beautiful arias in the subway, sometimes in the 14th St corridor? She's African American, a bit older, heavy set and plays an electronic keyboard. Always gives me the chills, in a good way. : )
oh and the dude who rides the 2,3 train--scrawny Af Am guy with leather pants and an amp strapped to him. Plays elec gtr and sings Tracy Chapman's "Sorry, Is all that you can say...." ALL THE TIME. LOL
Aren't #1 and #18 the same person? Or are there two polka-dotted homeless ladies?
how can you not love the Birdman?
He's at Port Authority all the time.
+ Watch video
[manhattanoffender.typepad.com]
#3 is over my shoulder in this picture.
I like the band in the Union Square station that's straight outta "Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk."
There's the guy on the F Train with the guitar autographed by Ziggy Marley and the little portable amp who only knows how to play Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine". I think he once played "Redemption Song". Once. I went to a short film screening that featured him and his Bill Withers shtick prominently and after 45 minutes of that seeing him on the F Train was not a welcome sight.
The bum on 6th ave who floats between 14th and 18th streets. He's completely wrapped in newspapers, reeks of a potent combination of bodily fluids and has an innate grasp of all sorts of witty profanity laden combinations and turns of phrase.
@Bell County: The second draft of a beat novel is called the next novel.
On weekdays in the summer, and for some reason only in the summer, there's a homeless guy who rubs discarded pizza slices on the arms of Segal's lesbian statues in Sheridan Sq.
I've seen him do this a number of times and so have several friends.
We've all noted that the homeless guy doesn't seem to have a preference for the toppings on the pizza slices he uses, but the pepperoni is particularly eye-catching on the statues' white surface.
I like the woman who stands on even empty buses. I once saw her standing watching a film in a noncrowded movie theater. I asked her why. She said she doesn't like to sit where anybody else sat.
Oh, heck... I am that woman.
I keep posting in the wrong thread, damn your linking!
+ Watch video
#12: [www.skthoth.com]
He's all over the Internet.
Rodney and Metal Mike! I miss you guys!
Also, has anyone seen the guy in Union Square who walks around holding a hand mirror in front of his face saying "Good morning!" repeatedly in a thick New York accent?
Also for consideration, the black guy who green, purple, and yellow pipe cleaners woven into his cornrows who pops up occasionally on the L train. Usually gets on at Union Square, gives some speech about being alien, then starts wailing on his contralto sax -- can't play worth a lick, so he'll just hold these piercing high notes for minutes on end. Then he asks for money.
@SidAndFinancy: Ha!
The British carrot-peeling man usually attracts the tourists. I used to think he was a permanent fixture in Union Square, but once I saw him parked on the corner of Canal and Broadway so I guess he's mobile.
@IS_IT_THE_SHOES!?: YES! I saw him once. He talks about politics and space and shit and then asks for money to make a space ship?
In the evening #20 is often on 3d between 14th and 15th, east side, between pharmacy and coffee shop. I don't have a camera but I see him there all the time. Never noticed the gammadions though.
Yay my kook made it!
Hey Gawker writer types: Thoth is not an amateur. He's from SF and used to hang out in Golden Gate Park. But then some lame filmmaker made an even lamer short film about him in 2002 and it won a freakin' oscar. Disqualified.
My vote is for crazy old Richard Martin - I love that guy.
Since 22 is a bike messenger I have seen him in Midtown, Flatiron, and Tribeca. He is mobile and considered very dangerous. By me.
What about the woman on 5th ave., between 10th and 11th, who power walks with 1lb. weights in her hands and who poots every few seconds, leaving a scent trail behind that makes my eyes water like the NYPD just maced me?
One sec...
OK, never mind, that's just my wife.
I have seen Thoth: [www.skthoth.com]
[pictopia.com]
Comment on 23 Unidentified Modern Eccentrics Has anyone seen the guy walking around lower manhattan with the (live) cat on his head? The cat impresses me... And Gary, the "mayor" of Strawberry Fields, was really upset by his flower selection last time I saw him. Both very bizarre.
I love the polka dot lady.
Have you all ever seen the rubber band bum? he used to always be in Nolita. He would cover his entire body first in plastic bags, not garbage but deli or grocery size. He would hold these in place by rubber bands, like hundreds of them. The overall effect was plastic-y future stay puff marshmellow man.
Also, one of my other favorites is the man I dubbed "Goth Ben Franklin". He lives in Williamsburg and to my surprise and delight, I found out what he does for a living one night. Apparently he coat checks at Studio B.
the green lady used to ride the f train with me every day. she was in ny mag's story about people who only wear one color: [nymag.com]
#6 "The Green Lady" - [nymag.com]
This is her. She's a fabric designer. :)
omg garbage bag man! there is also a guy i see frequently on the 2/4 trains [and once on the A] who i call black flinestones guy. he wears some sort of brown sweater/dress thing, with a fleece, leopard-print scarf as a belt, and carries a large bag of magical surprises. he also smells like piss and shit. but that's not surprising.
What about the guy and woman in Central Park who look like they skinned 1000 stuffed animals to make their clothes? He rides a chopper-style bicycle, and they seem to make and sell all manner of colorful bracelets that you're not allowed to touch or photograph.
I really like the older black men who start their subway act by asking somebody what time it is, and when they answer, yelling, "No! It's Doowop Time!" They don't skip a beat if you already know the schtick when they ask you and yell "It's DooWop Time. Hit it, boys!"
What about the guy that puts up his own artistic displays on the FDR at about 116th or so? He is always topical and generally uses items (dolls, bike wheels, busted furniture, spackle buckets, etc.) in some artsy way to convey a message important to him? Every once in a while, you'll see him sitting among the art, he waves to cars when you honk. He always puts up a sign to wish everyone a happy holiday (which ever one is current) and always spells the holiday wrong. NYT wrote about him a while back...
#4 and #10 are both Elegant Eliot Offen.
What about the black guy (usually at South Street Seaport) that folds himself up and then puts himself through a de-stringed tennis racket?
Have you seen the yarn couple? White lady and tall black guy who have fully knitted, rainbow colored, head to toe outfits with yarn strings dangling off of them. They also have carts with various yarn related projects inside them with a sign that says "do not touch!". I guess the lure of soft yarn is too much for some passersby. Usually see them on 57th between 7th and Broadway.
Metal Mike: True to it. Not new to it.
@collegecallgirl: SMILE! It won't mess up your hair!
Thoth was on that Hasselhoff talent show. I think that disqualifies him from this. And I think I get disqualified from life for knowing that...
@jupiterspaw: He's in the Financial District, too! What is the deal with that guy?
There was an asian woman who would issue curses to everyone on the F Train. Not swearing but actual curses.
"Oh I see you reading that bad Esquire magazine! 48 curses on you! You go to hell now! That look you gave me is good for 1000 more curses! You have 45,000 curses on you now!"
Honestly. She was worth the $2 admission
@DonPardoCalrissian: I see him ALL the time on 3rd and 15th and always wondered how down-and-out he could be considering his wardrobe is always impeccably white.
@Clarence Rosario: @snocone: Yep, that's them.
@sassypants: This eccentric auteur is known as Black Cherokee. When my brother drives me back into "town" we always look for his latest attempts at edifying the masses.
The morning departure from the F train, specifically at 40th and Sixth, Southeast corner has two notables: at the top of second stairwell black, rather tattered but somehow lately ethereal homeless gentleman,as he has moved on from his sidekick staticky radio to garbing himself in head to toe white. Then having passed this spectacle one can hear the constant murmurings of the sweet faced Hispanic hander outer of am new york which he INSISTS to my great rage in calling PM! :PM,brother, sister, newspaper PM". I have attempted, on several occasions to illuminate him as it is 8:00 in the blasted morning that it is am and he laughs "am!" and then proceeds: "PM, brother, sister."
@Lonesome_George: Yay! You know Rodney! Isn't he awesome? I hope he's doing ok. He's my favorite homeless person of all time.
@Claystil: Amazing in a horrible way, I hope you mean. I think he is unbearable.
At any rate...woohoo for both my eccentrics making it!
@jupiterspaw: You just gotta be smooth, baby. I think it has to do with how slowly he moves.
2 more for you..
-- the "6 foot 7 inch Jew will freestyle rap for you" guy.. typically around USQ or wash sq park.
-- The guy on the median of Park and 48th every morning (circa 98-03+) who was always shouting skyward with a bible in his hand.
@UnnaturalAxe: Your 6th Ave bum sounds a lot like Don, the bum who used to stash his blankets under the loading dock where I worked on 21st. He would also crap on our loading dock and didn't take kindly to being asked not to do so. He had a friend that would show up in the spring and they'd be gross together. We let him continue to sleep and store stuff around the dock as long as he stopped the crapping.
@lautaylo: Thank you!! I knew there was a reason the word Sweatheart was the best way to describe her. She really is. No matter how lousy a day I was having at my office (and there were many), when she came in, I always felt better.
@drierp: the 6'7" Jew is a professional rapper, I've seen him open for bands. Not very good but enthusiastic. He might not qualify as he's a pro, if we have rules to this game.
@drierp: One drunken evening sitting outside at 3 of Cups, I got the entire patio to chip in to get this dude to rap about psychoanalysis and breasts. 3 months later, homeboy pops up in a Nickelback video. Damn, I'm a good publicist.
@UnnaturalAxe: I have seen that newspaper wearing guy. He also wears an aluminum foil helmet, and hangs outside of the Hollywood Diner on 16th. I guess if you're gonna do crazy, might as well go balls-out. Oh, and the green guy marches in Queens Pride every year, with his poodle in a baby carriage. June 1st in Jackson Heights, if you're looking.