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PANDEMIC ROOMMATES COMMUNITY
How a former healthcare provider and a homeless aspiring rapper formed an unlikely friendship because of coronavirus BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
Melanie Horn walks Toki in Central Park. Photo courtesy of Elisabeth Rasmussen and Melanie Horn
THE CANINE CONNECTION PETS
A chance meeting in an Upper East Side dog park creates new bonds BY ALICE TECOTZKY
One spring afternoon, Elisabeth Rasmussen was sitting in a dog park on the Upper East Side, finishing one of the phone meetings that have become too commonplace, when, suddenly, she saw someone walking toward her with Phoenix, her dog. Astonished, Rasmussen began to approach the woman, but stopped when she realized that Phoenix, whom she adopted in February, was sitting right next to her. Yet Rasmussen was not seeing double; there truly was a Phoenix look-alike strolling excitedly over to the bench she had been sitting on. And not only that, but Phoenix
and Toki, the doppelganger, seemed to recognize each other. “Up until that point, Toki was extremely shy, she wouldn’t approach other dogs, her tail was often pretty down in the dog park,” explained Melanie Horn, Toki’s owner since early March. “When she saw Phoenix, immediately her tail was up and wagging, she was jumping around. I had never seen her that excited.” Convinced that Phoenix and Toki were not meeting but indeed reuniting, Rasmussen and Horn began talking, and the two discovered that they had both adopted their dogs from Bideawee, a New York-based no-kill pet welfare organization. Phoenix and Toki are not, the women discovered, two old, bizarrely identical pals— they’re brother and sister.
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Peggy Rey says not many people understand her friendship with Wilfredo Salaman. Rey is a 76-year-old former childcare provider. Salaman is a 35-year-old aspiring rapper from Puerto Rico, who first met Rey while he was homeless, living under scaffolding outside her building. And for the last three months the two have been living together in Rey’s studio apartment in Chelsea. Their cohabitation is pecu-
liar, Rey admits, and it is a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. In December 2019, Salaman, who Rey calls “Will,” had found some stability after a setback. Throughout his adult life, he has experienced homelessness intermittently. Born in the Bronx, Salaman grew up in Puerto Rico. In 2013, Salaman decided to move to New York in pursuit of his dream of working in the entertainment industry, first sparked by family members who were salsa singers on the island. “I came here homeless straight from the plane,” said Salaman. “I started in the shelter system and worked my way out of the streets.” He spent a couple of years in Illinois, but after losing work there, he returned to the
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INSIDE
THE FUTURE OF COMPOSTING
Environmental program squeaks through city budget cuts. p. 10
“It Was Horrible, Horrible” But along came the coronavirus, and it knocked away Salaman’s progress. He was
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COVID CLEANING
A collector declutters and discovers wonders in the junk drawer. p. 6
WORD ON THE STREET
Over the last few months, readers have sent us poems they’ve written. A selection. p. 13 Peggy Rey and Wilfredo Salaman. Photo: Emily Higginbotham
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city resolved to follow his dreams. But still, he had no place to stay, and spent a few months on the streets. It was at this time that he met Rey, who would give him some money to help her take heavy packages up to her apartment. She noted how excited Salaman was when a pair of police officers from the 10th precinct helped Salaman get back on his feet with a fresh hair cut, food, a new suit, and help in landing a job at a local coffee shop. He was able to find housing and was off the streets. It was a feel-good story that was featured in the Daily News and amNY.
WEEK OF JULY-AUGUST JULY
Voices City Arts
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15 Minutes Real Estate
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