4 ms·
Stoops can have a dramatic impact on the culture of a given block. When you have stoops, people sit on them. This means more conversation outside in public, c
by whiddershins 6y ago
Stoops can have a dramatic impact on the culture of a given block.
When you have stoops, people sit on them.
This means more conversation outside in public, creating community.
When I was young, it was normal for a group of kids to sit on any stoop if the front gate was open. (This has mostly gone away)
Older people might spend hours sitting on their stoop, and basically end up being a neighborhood watch.
Neighbors get to know each other, and are more likely to quickly identify someone being violent and call the police.
Overall, I would always choose a block with stoops over one without, everything else being more or less equal.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y agoThe downside is people will smoke on them and leave their butts around.
- bobthepanda 6y ago1. Like every other surface, or the sidewalk in front of your house, you do have to maintain it. If it's not cigarette butts it's bird shit or leaves or slush or what have you. (Sidewalk cleaning is the responsibility of the property owner in NYC, or at least snow shoveling is.) 2. How much of a problem is this in 2020 NYC? The Bloomberg-era anti-smoking campaigns really did a number of smoking rates, and the very high cigarette tax also did a number. Smoking rates have declined to about 5% of girls, 7% of boys, 9% of women and 17% of men, from a 1997 baseline of 20-23% for all of these groups. [1] [1] - https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief103.pdf https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief1...
- bobthepanda 6y agoOne downside of stoops is the existence of the stairs, which presents an additional burden if - you are carrying anything big, bulky, or heavy, like groceries or a stroller - it is snowing or raining or freezing, in which case the stairs become slick and quite dangerous - you have issues with mobility; you may be old, pregnant, or have lost mobility due to either something temporary (requiring the use of crutches) or permanent And some people deal with multiples of these issues. These are issues in most housing forms (most houses have some kind of steps) but NYC-style stoops can run much larger than a typical modern set of steps, where there are probably only two or three from the path to the door.
- ramraj07 6y agoAlternative: Traditional tamil houses are supposed to have a fairly large platform (size of a twin bed) which is explicitly designed for not just the owners, but any passers by to sit and take a break. The tradition as it's told is that anyone can also choose to spend the night there, and it's the house owners obligation now to provide them with a hearty meal and whatever else help they may need. I like that idea, but doubt it can actually work in any large town or in these times.
- jperras 6y agoWe have this in many neighbourhoods of Montréal, but with exterior staircases. A collage of examples: https://montrealstreetfrench.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/escalier-exterieur-montreal.png https://montrealstreetfrench.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/esc... In the summer it's incredibly common to find people hanging out on the 2nd level landings, having morning coffee at a little table, playing music, or just soaking up some sun. Because there's almost no shared interior space (since the staircases are all on the outside), it's more space-efficient, and also gives people a bit more privacy since everyone has their own entrance from the outside.