

(The performers in the video are not the same ones I mention in the story below. This video is from a similar show captured a few days later.)

New Yorkers are an ingenious bunch. Everyone is on their hustle, and if there is money to be made, someone is already out there making it.

There’s the old MetroCard scam, in which someone sells an unsuspecting tourist a card he found at a “discounted” price – for more than they’re actually worth. There were also vendors charged with selling fake tickets to the Statue of Liberty this year. No joke, there was a guy in my old neighborhood who would sell single AA batteries wrapped in saran wrap. I doubt those batteries actually worked, but a hustle is a hustle.

What I don’t respect is the use of peer pressure to squeeze money out of unsuspecting tourists, which is why I feel the need to call out a popular New York City street performance I believe has taken things too far.

If you’ve been to New York City, you’ve likely seen the break-dancing shows that spring up in Central Park, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge entrance and Battery Park, among other areas. The shows involve anywhere from four to six muscular guys who break dance in unison, flip like Olympians, and contort their bodies like they’re in Cirque de Soleil. It’s entertaining and consistent. I’ve lived in New York for seven years and it’s the same show nearly every time. But recently the grand finale was different and downright disturbing.

The finale involves one of the dancers picking six volunteers from the crowd who are then placed in a single file line. The crowd, which can often consist of a few dozen onlookers, is told that one of the break dancers will take a running and leap over the heads of the six volunteers. Impressive, right? However, right before he jumps, they pause and demand money from the crowd in order to see the trick. They request the money before the stunt because they say most of the crowd will leave after the trick without leaving a tip. They’re probably right.

Yes, this is annoying, but I’m all for giving these guys a dollar or two for their acrobatics. After all, it is pretty impressive. This isn’t the part of the show you have to be worried about. It’s what comes next.

After collecting money from the crowd, the group’s leader goes up to the volunteers and demands money from each of them. He intimidates them and applies peer pressure. I watched as he went up to one man and hinted that the jumper might miss his mark if the tourist didn’t fork over $20. The man reluctantly obliged.

The leader then moved down the line, demanding $20 from two other men who also reluctantly obliged. One was an Asian tourist who seemed confused by what was happening, but seemed to just want to go along with the game.

Then he got to an Australian man who tried to avoid the payout by saying he didn’t have his wallet. The leader didn’t believe him and proceeded to brazenly reach into the man’s back pocket and retrieve his billfold. Put on the spot, the Australian tourist hesitantly handed over $10. Then, to my horror, the head performer reached his hand in the man’s wallet and took out a $20 bill with smile!

In some cases, the dancers will bring up as many as eight volunteers, ask for money, and only end up jumping over four of them. That means the other four people were pulled out of the crowd just to function as human ATMs.

The group finally did the jump, and everyone walked away with fun photos and videos to share on Facebook.

I walked away with a sick feeling in my stomach.

Visiting New York City is expensive enough. People plan and budget for the trip, and they shouldn’t leave feeling as if someone took advantage of them. The city is an amazing place with countless street performers with real talent. They do a great job and deserve tips when they put on a great show. What no one deserves is to be peer pressured or intimidated into handing over their hard-earned cash.

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