Wait, is that toy... hitting on me?

Spotted in the Slope on 11th Street and 8th Ave:

"Hey girl - you pick up toys often?"

I really like this toy abandoner's style - a little flirtation can go a long way, right?

Being a doll ain't no walk in the park, sweetheart

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're back.

Sorry for the complete and deafening radio silence the past few months!  I've been in Mama mode...

To jump start this blog again, I thought I'd pick a recent fave - spotted outside of Central Park on 5th Ave and East 71st Street:

Reconnecting with nature, doll style

Sometimes a doll just needs a break from it all; know what I mean?  With all of the "tea party" this, and "dress up" that, a doll can really lose her way amongst all of the stuffed animals.  So it's nice to see this little lady take five to people watch and catch some rays.

Sit back and relax (IF YOU DARE)...

Spotted in the Slope on 11th Street and 7th Ave:

That chair must have been home to one hell of an angry house cat...

In theory, this whole set up is so inviting - one could casually play with sponge bath shapes while reclining in the thoughtfully provided chair.  However, the fact that the chair looks like it was ravaged by a wild tiger and/or has fallen victim to an insidious bed bug infestation makes it unlikely that any passerby would even think about sitting down, let alone touch the bath toys.

Nope - I think the bath toys would fare much better if they were accompanied by this little chair, which was spotted in Manhattan on East 12th Street and 2nd Ave:

This chair was clearly well loved, as evidenced by the number of stickers on it

Brooklyn and Manhattan, isn't it about time that we started working together?  For the love of abandoned toys, if nothing else...

Footloose and (Fancy?) Free

Abandoned Toys is going slightly off-topic today to explore a disturbing development in the Slope: abandoned kids' shoes.  Consider the following examples:

Tragic - it looks like they are attempting to walk back through the gate; one last sad attempt to be reunited with their owner...

Ice cold treatment indeed...

Were the magazines included to entice onlookers to also consider the shoes, or vice versa?

Velcro and Crocs - free and orthopedic!

Who doesn't love a good flop?

Note the common theme: with the exception of the first photo, exceptional care and attention has been placed into displaying the shoes.  Perhaps shoe abandonment is not as tragic as I first thought - these shoes may get a second chance after all!  The more I think about it, what's really alarming about these photos is the implication that countless kids are running wild with bare feet - I foresee an explosion of planter warts and athlete's foot in the neighborhood... Gross.

Abandonment with Class

Today's post comes via reader Stan, who spotted these treasures in Boerum Hill on Bergen and Smith Streets:

More organized than most neighborhood retail stores...

Now THAT'S how you get stuff to move: everything is clean, the toys are intact with all necessary pieces, similar items are grouped together, and the layout is very aesthetically pleasing.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that there is nothing sad about this photo at all - well done, random brownstoners in Boerum Hill; well done indeed.