Humans of New York vs the pointer brothers — Instagram Profile Comparison

A few years ago I received a DM from @zohrankmamdani. Only recently did I discover its existence. It was a very unusual DM—especially coming from a local assemblyman who would soon be running for higher office. He had very little name recognition at the time, and could have benefited from publicity. But unlike the thousands of messages I’ve received from people with something to promote, Zohran did not ask to be featured on Humans of New York. Instead he asked if he could introduce me to taxi drivers that were struggling beneath the burden of debt. Coming from a man with political ambitions, this self-denying request was so strange as to be almost singular. I don’t endorse politicians on Humans of New York. But I’ll endorse a good man. And it was a good man who cleared 30 minutes from his schedule yesterday to swing by Grand Central to visit Dear New York. Nearly fifty student artists were visiting that day with their families, and I thought a surprise visit from this widely-loved future mayor would be a special memory for all of them. Before Zohran’s arrival I was convinced I’d made a terrible mistake. The Vanderbilt Hall exhibit was filled to capacity with adult visitors. Dear New York is self-funded so there was very little staff and security for crowd control. In the crush of people I was almost certain this special day for the kids would devolve into thirty minutes of selfie requests. But everyone rose to the occasion. Hundreds of adults quickly cleared the room and stood outside the exhibit. Eleven very notable adult artists are also featured in the exhibition, but even they took a step back, so that these students could briefly have the stage to themselves. Each child stood by their work and Zohran was able to meet all of them, one at a time, and honor their contributions to the most-visited art show in New York City. Thanks to everyone who ceded the stage yesterday to make this moment possible. Thank you Zohran for literally sitting down on the floor so that these young artists could feel so tall. Thank you for continually centering other people in your life and work. And thank you, for being such an important part of Dear New York.