It began, as so many things do in New York City, with people who would not shut up.
After the pandemic began in March, the lines to get into a Trader Joe’s store on the Upper West Side became excessively long, with people queuing up hours before the store opened.
And as they waited, they talked. Incessantly. Not to one another, but on their phones.
“Every day these people would wake us up,” said Kyle Luker, whose brownstone window sits just above the Trader Joe’s line. “At first, I was polite and asked them to please be quiet. Then after a few days I was shouting, and my husband was like: ‘Stop it! You can’t do that.’”
So Mr. Luker and his husband, Ash Fulk, took a different tack: They, with the help of several neighbors, began jotting down some of the conversations overheard, displaying snippets of them on signs hung outside their window.
The first sign came about a month into the long lines:
Chad,
We are so sorry your wife is leaving you. And we are SURE the “Everything but the Bagel” Seasoning will help you. But … is this really the place to discuss it? Love, #TraderJoesLineUWS
And so it began.
Some messages clearly reflected the frustration of Mr. Luker and his neighbors, as the lines and the accompanying din outside the store, on Columbus Avenue, mounted. (The lines at the grocery chain’s New York City locations are so well known that a handful of Twitter accounts, like @TraderJoesLine, exist purely to report how long one might have to wait at any given moment.)
One sign beseeched someone named Stacey to “shut up!”
“No one cares you are getting more frozen berries for your epic smoothies.”
And even as another sign revealed a weak spot for Barry Manilow, it still asked Devin if he had to “blast him from your wagon!?”
The process has undergone some modifications. Mr. Luker, a talent manager at Industry Entertainment, does not have the neatest handwriting, so Gabrielle LeMoullec, a neighbor with much more legible print, took over. Her husband, Max Gayle, who works in the events department for a record company, has added accompanying cartoons.
Another neighbor, Winnie Sabbat, who lives on the first floor, has the best listening vantage point, so she began to contribute more and more chunks of conversation. And Mr. Fulk, a chef, has provided his command of the names of various Trader Joe’s snacks.
Claire, we don’t think you should be bragging that you don’t watch the news and your parents think NYC is, like, some sort of a war zone. It is not. We are NY STRONG. We do however appreciate your double mask while you’re in for your groceries since you’re like 6 ft. away. Might we suggest you pick up the Reduced Guilt Spinach and Kale Greek Yogurt Dip? Xoxo #TraderJoesLineUWS
The names of those overheard are usually changed to protect the mouthy, but the conversations are real — a Covid-19 version of “Stan Mack’s Real Life Funnies,” the beloved 1970s and ’80s column in the Village Voice.
- The death toll is edging up in several states, possibly ending months of declining national death totals.
- A U.S. judge delays deciding on a challenge to new federal rules that could affect a million foreign students.
- States that were among the earliest to reopen have driven the surge in cases in the U.S.
“We all knew each other before, but not like this,” Ms. LeMoullec said. “We were all so secluded at the beginning of the pandemic. We just needed to see other people. We needed to talk.”
The group found that the partnership had other benefits: The neighbors began to do a bit of shopping for one another; when one went to the store, the rest could put in their orders. This was no small thing when shopping felt like walking into a war zone.
The signs were sometimes sweet, sometimes sour and often an outlet for the communal exasperation with fellow New Yorkers who were self-involved or whiny as everyone was being asked to make small sacrifices.
Some signs touched upon relationships, often ones that went south.
“You know what Jaclyn!? I think he IS cheating on you.”
Hey Christopher, we can hear that Match, Tinder, Bumble and maybe Grindr have not been doing you justice in these times.”
And to someone either called Lola, Lauren or Lo-Lo, who used all three names during her “marathon gabfest,” it was suggested that she “take seafood off your list since you’re obviously well stocked in CATFISH.”
Now the signs, which are posted on Instagram under @traderjoeslineUWS, have attracted their own lines. People take selfies by them, and some Trader Joe’s customers even make reference to them as they pass by.
One day, Mr. Luker heard a woman tell someone on the phone that she had to hang up because she was too close to the building “where they listen and put what you say on a sign.” (Sure enough, that became a sign.)
Some signs have reflected the small challenges of living during a pandemic: no barber, no sports; too many fireworks, too much gray hair showing. Others have hinted at political tensions — one sign with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was torn up.
But mostly, the signs have been well received. One day, a mail carrier knocked on Mr. Luker’s door to tell him how much she appreciated seeing the signs during a tough time. They discussed their food loves, and she mentioned brisket.
“Ash is the chef at Hill Country barbecue, so we gave her some brisket,” Mr. Luker recalled. “She was really happy.” She came back the next day and brought them two homemade masks.
All told, there have been more than 70 signs, although the postings are on hiatus because some of the building’s occupants have scattered for vacations. Mr. Luker said the signs would return; as long as there are long, annoying lines, there will assuredly be New Yorkers to eavesdrop upon.
“We’re kind of proud of these signs,” Mr. Luker said, “We turned an annoyance into solidarity. Hard as all of this has been, and with all the things going on, we found a way to get together.”
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