Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The 311: Burn Calories, Not Electricity

New York City has a creative health department and an admirable phone line. I think I have mentioned 311 before; it's the 'everything number' for this city. Need to report a leaky fire hydrant? 311. Curious about a building project? 311. Want to know when trash pick up is? 311. So I was pretty thrilled when I saw this article about free signs you can request through the number.

This brilliant little ad reminds us that taking the stairs each day can add up to better health throughout the year.

When I called, the woman asked how many I wanted and I said 10. She said I could get two English and two Spanish of the fancy laminated kind, which I gladly accepted. Then I went out of town and came home to a 15 pound box on my desk. They must have sent 100 of those darn signs.

Our building manager generously put two in our lobby for me, but I needed to get rid of the rest so I took them to our community board meeting last week. They went like hot cakes and I felt great about the potential to spread the wellness cheer throughout our neighborhood.

Now if only I could get my husband and friends to listen...