‘Stoopers’ tracks artist Ralph Serrano after saving his works from the road

It was an offer that Lily Bilgrey could not refuse.

When browsing Instagram on Monday, the 20-year-old graphic design student quit an instant from a pile of colorful artwork leaning on the fence – just a few blocks away from his Upper West Side apartment.

The siren song originated @StoopingNYC, an account run by an anonymous duo who posted photos of discarded furniture and other home decorations, and where to find them on the sidewalk.

“When I saw something cool and artsy on the Upper West Side, I was very excited. Most of the art goods are in Brooklyn, “said Bilgrey, who participates in religious feeding along with nearly 40,000 street scavengers.

The items pictured – from the original designer couches to strange home-made lamps – are usually seized by budget-conscious New Yorkers within an hour.

The paintings were no different: Bilgrey and her neighbors flocked to 90th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam to print one of the colorful streaks. But when they do, commenters on Instagram type in panic: Who is the artist? Why are so many valuable (and apparently professional) works simply thrown away? Are the talents behind them displaced despite a moratorium in the entire state?

Using the details of the postcard tucked between the two parts he took and the signature “Artistikz” he broke, Bilgrey turned to Google. “It feels like a runaway room or something, with all these clues,” he said.

He identified their creator: Ralph Serrano, who used the handle @El_ArteoMuerte on Instagram. Then he sent a message to her.

The answer is bitter – and so is the story. A 48-year-old muralist, Serrano decided to leave the city in May because he could no longer afford to pay rent in his Upper West Side three-bedroom apartment after the commission and project dried up due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On the eve of moving, Serrano, who moved to New York in 1992, sold some of his work and sent the others to his family in Puerto Rico, where he is heading next month.

He was destroyed to leave around 30 canvases in the room he used as a studio. “The paper that I signed [upon move-out] “whatever is left behind will be considered rubbish,” Serrano told The Post. “I’m like,‘ Oh, man, this sucks. ‘”

So on Monday, he was surprised and delighted when Instagrammers began to reach out, asking if he was okay and whether they could pay for the piece they took from the sidewalk. (He suspects that the owner or a maintenance worker piled them outside the building when cleaning the unit for future tenants.)

“As an artist, you don’t want to leave your job. I feel like leaving my children. I am really heartbroken because I have to do it, “said Serrano. “All the love from the post at Stooping has just lifted my spirits. . . even just a simple message ‘stay strong’ and ‘keep moving forward,’ to people who make donations, to photos of people who say, “Here it is, in my living room now!”

Serrano estimates he receives about $ 800 from fans “bowing” (as they call it activity) through the Cash Application. The discount is usually valued at between $ 500 and $ 2,500.

The benefactors included Jack Houlton-Vinyl, who captured a painting of one of his favorite musicians, James Brown, from a pile. Fearing that Serrano might feel “exploited,” he exchanged Instagram messages with artists, sharing his plans to hang black and white portraits next to framed recordings.

Coming from that environment, the 28-year-old public school teacher felt the experience was “a New York moment.”

“I went to elementary school five blocks from the place [Serrano] was making his work during those years. I am proud that I can display that history in my space, “he said. “I’m just over the moon to have a picture and to be able to talk to him about it.”

Bilgrey is also worried about what happened to Serrano, but feels grateful for giving his paintings a safe home. The designer, who grew up between Freehold Township, NJ, and the Upper West Side, moved to tile-roofed apartments in December from a dormitory. He bought a bed and sofa before running out of funds, and turned to bend over for the past six months to supplement the rest.

“I basically have seen entire apartments on the street because of COVID. Pathetic, and give the community moral questions. This is someone’s life, “said Bilgrey, who works part-time at a local comedy club.” I give this furniture a new life, and I have a happy home and I take care of my things – so that’s how I rationalize it for myself. But I hope there is more that I can do for families or people who have to leave New York early or get kicked out. “

Serrano reports that he is more cheerful too. “It was very touching, and it made me feel very humble and grateful for all the love and support,” he said. “It’s amazing that from a bad situation, in the midst of all this madness, something comes up that I think is very positive. It brings the energy I need back, because I’m struggling.”

The experience of finding Serrano’s works – and then Serrano’s own – is one of the beautiful coincidences of the city, added Bilgrey.

“People have a misconception about New Yorkers, that all people are bad and rude, but it’s not like that. Everyone’s neighbors,” he said. “Even in the toughest times, we all gather together.”