Garbage Haulers Almost Throw Away Piano Donated By Jersey City Mayor
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop set up a piano this week in the new Newark Avenue pedestrian plaza, but it almost ended up getting hauled away by the garbage men.
Fulop donated the white upright piano for the plaza so residents could play tunes in a pedestrian plaza that opened on Monday. He issued a tweet the following day, jokingly wondering if someone might steal it.
First day of Newark Ave pedestrian only. I put benches in Street+my piano.Let's see if anyone steels it or plays it. pic.twitter.com/8EJIZSogEF
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) August 19, 2014
A subsequent tweet showed a Jersey City resident sitting down and playing the piano.
For the record. #JerseyCity resident sat down and is PLAYING it. pic.twitter.com/X6fohvSAmO
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) August 19, 2014
But on Thursday, Jersey City sanitation workers came to the plaza and started to push the piano into their truck, apparently thinking it was garbage.
A resident, Karl Sison, tweeted a photo showing three workers holding the piano as it stands on its side, poised to hurl it into the yellow garbage truck.
Please don't take the piano!! @StevenFulop @terrencemcd @jerseyjournal #JerseyCity #DTJC pic.twitter.com/gz2s4El1Rp
— Sison, Karl (@_KGS) August 22, 2014
Sison told The Jersey Journal the sanitation workers stopped when told them the piano was not junk.
The piano is now stored in a construction area next to the Skinner's Loft restaurant, the newspaper reported.
The pedestrian plaza is open from 3 p.m. to midnight each weekday, and all day Saturday and Sunday, the newspaper reported.
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