How One Brooklyn Renter Got a Free Piano in Her Building’s Basement
Style editor Emma Dangel shares the story of finding a free upright piano in her Brooklyn apartment building’s basement on move-in day. She had played piano for more than 20 years and wanted to replace her electric keyboard with a real piano. The unexpected find has become a favorite conversation piece in her home.
Emma Dangel, a style editor at Apartment Therapy, moved two years ago from a compact East Village walk-up into a one-bedroom Brooklyn rental on a leafy block. Decorating on a modest budget, she combined modern and vintage pieces, family hand-me-downs, thrifted finds, and details for her cat, Phoebe.
She had played piano for over twenty years and hoped to eventually replace her digital keyboard with an upright. On moving day, she found a cloth-draped instrument in the basement. Her superintendent explained that a family who had recently left abandoned it; helpers brought it upstairs the following day. Though damaged and imperfectly tuned, it became a daily creative outlet and a neighborly talking point.
The story may encourage renters and city dwellers to view overlooked building spaces as possible sources of affordable furnishings and creative reuse. It could strengthen neighborly ties when a shared hobby becomes familiar to others in the building. It may also prompt residents and property managers to consider rehoming abandoned items instead of discarding them, though safety, condition, and building rules would shape any such choices.