Stoop Coffee: How a Simple Idea Transformed My Neighborhood

My wife and I live in New York City, a place often considered "unfriendly," but I don’t believe that! There’s a saying that on the west coast, people are nice but not kind, whereas New Yorkers are kind, not nice. I think New Yorkers can be nice, kind, and friendly.

We are both fortunate to have many friends with whom we share deep relationships. However, when we reflected on our lives at the end of 2024, we realized that we didn’t have as much of a connection with the people who live in our immediate community, just a few blocks away. We decided to change that, and then we came across an article about Stoop Coffee. We started taking every opportunity to engage with the people around us through community-organized events. We don’t need more best friends; we needed more people we can see at the park or the local coffee shop and catch up with. We began seizing opportunities to meet new people, and we’ve become much happier for it! Like the authors of the article, we found community in our community — which, it turns out, was the most obvious place to look.

18 months ago, I wasn’t planning on spending more time hanging out with my neighbors than with friends I’d known for decades. It started with a simple goal: my husband Tyler and I wanted that sense of community that feels like it’s only possible in the suburbs, but we believed we could achieve this while living in San Francisco. We brainstormed: should we make cookies and knock on doors? Should we invite neighbors over for dinner? Ultimately, we landed on sipping coffee on our “stoop”.

Hanging out on a stoop is not a novel concept. Unfortunately, an increasing trend of isolation has resulted in fewer and fewer neighbors gathering to connect with one another. Stooping has provided benefits to so many communities. Why not bring this concept to my own neighborhood?

The tyrany of apps: those without smartphones are unfairly penalized

The world is increasingly reliant on smartphones, which are pervasive across most Western cultures. But are they truly ubiquitous — does every single person have one and consistent access to the internet? This is the problem with locking discounts, loyalty schemes, and essential services into apps. As banking, parking, and in-store savings become siloed within these apps, what happens to people who do not have access to or cannot afford smartphones?

Apps have burrowed their way into seemingly every aspect of our lives and there are lots of reasons why companies are pushing us to use them. With an app, it is often “one click and you’re in”, rather than having to faff around online finding the website and remembering passwords. It is also for the “push notifications” that mobile apps send to grab our attention and get us to buy stuff. Many tech experts also argue that apps are generally more secure than websites and allow banks and others to carry out sophisticated ID verification using face, voice and fingerprint biometrics.

But millions of people who cannot afford a smartphone or have an older device that does not support some services are increasingly being locked out of deals, discounts and even some vital services, say digital exclusion and pro-cash campaigners.

How I Approach Humor

There’s something funny about reading an essay about how to be funny, but Cassidy is undoubtedly one of the funniest people on the internet! Additionally, she is a talented writer, which makes a lesson from her on the art of humor worth every penny. Let her teach you how to be funny, academically. 🤓

Every single moment in life is an opportunity for:

• A pun

• A rhyme

• A one-liner

  Your puns and rhymes and one-liners (your PROs) don’t have to be good. They don’t have to make sense. But they have to be executed consistently. Repetition is recognition!