Put Washington Square Park’s “Piano Guy” on the City Payroll
If you’ve ever visited New York City’s Washington Square Park, chances are good you’ve seen and heard Colin Huggins playing classical music on his piano. Huggins is incredibly talented — and he’s also homeless. Why not make him a city employee?
Pianist Colin Huggins plays the piano in Washington Square Park, New York City, on September 12, 2020. (Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images)
When I show up on Easter Sunday to hear Colin Huggins play his Steinway on the east side of Washington Square Park, I find the pianist wrapped in a black cape, sitting on top of the baby grand piano, just outside the gates. He’s not ready to play.
Huggins is feeling anxious and depressed, as he often is these days. He seems apologetic about it, even concerned that his sadness is contagious. “I don’t want to cause you pain,” he emphasizes. He takes time to do some deep breathing. After a few more minutes, he rolls the piano out into the park.
Everyone who walks by stops to look. The Steinway is decorated on its left side with the words, “This machine kills fascists,” a Woody Guthrie reference bestowed upon the instrument by an ex-girlfriend of the pianist. Huggins puts out a tip jar next to a vase of daffodils.
Sorry, but this article is available to active subscribers only. Please log in or become a subscriber.