At 3am on Friday morning, I was woken up out of a sound sleep. A man was on Coney Island Avenue, which my apartment faces, screaming. “Help! Someone please help me! Please!”
He was rolling around on the ground. It was cold, windy, and dark. He was alone. People were walking by him, not paying him any mind. There was something so earnest in his voice, so bone-chilling. I called 911.
The 911 operator asked for my name, phone number, address, and any details about the man, though I had very little to offer except his location. I hung up, and 10 seconds later my local police precinct called me back. The sergeant asked all the same questions the operator asked me. My guess is they were checking to make sure this wasn’t some kind of prank. When I told him the man had been crying out for a few minutes, he said, “Really? You’re the only call we’ve gotten.”
30 seconds later, two police cars and an ambulance pulled up to the corner. The man’s cries quieted. The EMTs immediately got him onto a gurney and wrapped him in blankets. One of the police officers walked down the block and collected a backpack and a walker. He loaded them into the ambulance with the man and the EMTs. I don’t know why his walker and backpack were so far from where he was. Was he attacked? Was he disoriented? I’ll never know. I do know I’m glad I called. I’m glad he got help.I’m glad the system worked.
I went back to bed after the scene was cleared. I said a prayer hoping he would get all the help he needed. I thought about how no one else had called, not the people walking by the man, not even the attendants at the 24-hour gas stations or bodegas on the corner.
I wonder what’s happening to us in this world, how and why we’ve become immune to cries for help, why we assume people in desperate need have somehow brought the situation on themselves. I wonder why our sense of humanity and decency is eroding. Why are we not helping when the need is so clear and persistent?
A European friend of mine once said to me he thought the saddest thing about America is that it has no social safety net. What I realized in those early hours of Friday night is that we do have a social safety net, and it’s us. We have to be the social safety net for each other. When someone cries out for help, we need to show up and extend a hand. We’re all just walking each other home.
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/
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