A mysterious stroller, painted entirely white and chained to a parking sign on the corner of Union Street and Sixth Avenue in Park Slope two weeks ago, is disturbing local residents who seem alternately worried it’s evidence of a fatality and suspicious that they’re just being made fun of.
The Times investigated and found no recent traffic fatalities in the area, and the Street Memorial Project, who install the “ghost bikes” in honor of fallen cyclists, say they know nothing about it. Some enterprising neighbor put up a cardboard sign in an attempt to alleviate the vague dissatisfaction caused by the stroller’s presence, saying:
“Dear Friends, has this white stroller been placed here as a memorial to a child who lost their life on this street? if so, please add a plaque with the child’s name and dates so that we may share your courage and your grief. If not, please remove this stroller. It’s similarity to the white “ghost bikes” and it’s implications are disturbing and unwelcome. Thanks you!”
According to the Flickr user who transcribed the sign, it has now been ripped down. But the Times story ignores another eerily similar fake (or copycat) mysterious child’s “ghost bike” that appeared at the same time on the Upper West Side.
According to the Flickr user who transcribed the sign, it has now been ripped down. But the Times story ignores another eerily similar fake (or copycat) mysterious child’s “ghost bike” that appeared at the same time on the Upper West Side.
While, again, the Street Memorial Project has no record of it, some speculate that the white-painted child’s bike chained to a sign on 100th Street and West End Avenue, bearing training wheels and marked with the name “Jonah Shapiro, age 9,” was parked in front of a synagogue to memorialize a child killed elsewhere. (Unofficial ghost bikes have appeared, out of place, before.)
But back to the ghost stroller: What the hell is that about? Without a plaque, out of place, and also, as a stroller rather than a bike, bearing unnerving associations with parental blame, it basically (and hopefully) has to be an art project by someone who knows exactly how best to push the buttons of Park Slope parents.
A Ghost Stroller Puzzles Park Slope [NYT]
Mysterious Ghost Bike Raises Questions [West Side Spirit]
Ghost Stroller? [Flickr]
