Community

Frank Sinatra’s iconic song "New York, New York" says it well. “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” We all believe it’s true because the administrative dysfunction and layers of bureaucracy can be a bit much. As I write this, my fingers are rebelling because our house has been a balmy 50-60 degrees most of the week. It doesn’t help that this has been the coldest week of the Winter. On Wednesday the folks living below us reported smelling gas. Like any thoughtful homeowner, I called the gas company who after some poking and prodding managed to find a minor leak and shut the gas off. All that is fine except now, 4 days later and $5,000 poorer, I am still sitting in a cold house. The contractor fixed the problem yesterday and filed the request with the Dept. of Buildings for the final inspection, but it is unlikely they can come before Tuesday, meaning the gas company can’t come back to turn the gas back on until Wednesday, a full week into this fiasco. So here I am sitting in a perfectly repaired house knowing that I have to go without heat and hot water for another 3 days because of the whims of city agents. To add insult to injury, of that $5,000 I spent for the repair, $3,000 of it just went to the city for the permits and inspections.

If you know the history of NYC, you would know that there are some good reasons for this level of oversight; after all, every house effects every other house, and we have a long history of tragic fires. Because we are so close to each other, there has to be strict code enforcement.

It occurs to me that community has its costs. Living this close together as a community in NYC causes some challenges.

There is another side to community too. Folks at work have been asking how they can help. I proudly said that our church is “all over it.” Last night my wife and I drove to some friends’ place for warm showers. On the way, we met our first-floor tenants, actually their four daughters, ages 8-17, walking happily in the sub-freezing night nearly a half mile for the same privilege, a warm shower. Earlier their mother cooked for us since she was using our oven for their dinner. Little acts of selflessness and shared inconvenience, that has also been the trademark of living here.

Here’s my point, community is inconvenient, and community also is what gets us through. For every frustrating aspect of life, there is an equally gracious neighbor who chims in “I gotch you, don’cha worry ‘bout a thing.” I don’t like the interdependence, but like the Eagles song from the 70’s says so well, “You got to let somebody love you, let somebody love you, before its too late.” None of us can do it on our own. Maybe that’s why Paul wrote, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galationas 6:2)