I turned my Manhattan stoop into an art project. It brought my neighborhood together.

Kristi Hemric transformed her Manhattan stoop into a creative art project that has brought her neighborhood together. After scaffolding covered her townhouse, she started decorating the stoop with pink flowers, which her neighbors loved. Over three years, she has created various themes, such as lemons, basketballs, and country flags, often deciding the next theme at the last minute.

Her husband, who is more organized, and their four young children help with the creative process. They store unused decorations for future use and avoid buying items that can only be used once. One notable event was when a couple got married on her stoop after proposing there, and another time, they gave away decorations to children for their mothers to give to their mothers.

Hemric's stoop has attracted attention from the community and through social media, turning what started as a way to beautify scaffolding into a source of community cohesion and joy.