GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — Colin Huggins hauls his 800-pound grand piano into Washington Square Park almost every weekend to play concertos on the instrument that, as its inscription reads, kills fascists.

"The Piano Guy," as the city knows him, has become an iconic part of the Greenwich Village park and often draws crowds who come to hear him play in the boiling heat and bitter cold. Huggins and his piano have been making their near half-mile journey through New York's bustling streets for more than a decade, and as video shows, it's no easy feat.

Huggins gave a snapshot of his life in the neighborhood as part of Patch's Local Legends series, in which people who make New York City great discuss the neighborhoods they call home.

Last week we spoke to food writer Joe DiStefano about the best balcony meat skewers in Queens, and next week we will feature actress Susan Heyward (who you may know as Hermione Granger's sorceress daughter in a certain Harry Potter-inspired Broadway show), who will explain the glories of Flatbush.

(Does your neighborhood have a Local Legend we should feature? Nominate them very here.)



Here's what Huggins had to say about the Village and Washington Square Park: