Theft is a common topic on the news, in newspapers, magazine, we hear about it on the streets. I never realized how depressing and violating it is until it happened to me, today. I walked to my car, parked in my lovely neighborhood, this morning and started it up. You’d think the muffler was missing it was so loud. I turned the car off, took a peek under the car and saw that a very large pipe was dragging on the ground. Didn’t look good.
I called my boss to get his advice and he said it sounded like a clamp had come off and that I should just take it to a repair shop and get it fixed. Didn’t sound like too big a deal. My mom and step-father said the same thing. I called my wonderful insurance company who arranged and paid for a tow to a nearby station about five miles away.
When the tow truck arrived, the tow man looked under the car once it was up on the truck. Once elevated, it was clear to see that a clamp hadn’t fallen off. Someone had taken a saw to my exhaust system and cut out the catalytic converter.
I had held it together pretty well all morning, but when I saw my car bring put up on the truck and carted away, I got a little teary. I just can’t understand how anyone, no matter how desperate, could literally harm someone else’s property, inconvenience them financially and logistically. As it turns out, with this particular kind of violation, I am not alone.
I called my friend, Steve, once I returned from the auto repair shop, and he said to me that he saw some article about this recently. After a quick search on Google, I found a New York Times article which ran in March that discusses the increase in this type of theft. CATs are a hot item because they contain so many precious metals that can be stripped out and sold. A thief can get about $200 per CAT from a chop shop and it takes about two minutes to take one from a car like mine. No doubt that same thief hit several other cars in my neighborhood on the same night. To replace it costs anywhere from $450 – $1000 and that’s just the part, not the labor. Thankfully, my car insurance covers vandalism so I’m getting off with a $500 deductible and they’ll pay the rest, including a good portion of a rental car I’ll need to get back and forth to work. Certainly not what I want to spend my money on, but I’m grateful for any help I can get in this situation.
For me, this is just one more reason to urge me to make the switch to a public transportation life.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Theft is a common topic on the news, in newspapers, magazine, we hear about it on the streets. I never realized how depressing and violating it is until it happened to me, today. I walked to my car, parked in my lovely neighborhood, this morning and started it up. You’d think the muffler was missing it was so loud. I turned the car off, took a peek under the car and saw that a very large pipe was dragging on the ground. Didn’t look good.
