In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, choir director and neighbor Pam McAllister, left, encourages musician Paul Stein, center, to invent timely words to his songs as Stein entertains neighbors with an accordion concert from his stoop in front of his Sunset Park, Brooklyn home during the coronavirus outbreak in New York. Stein's partner Elena Schwolsky listens, lower right. "I enjoy playing live music for people, and I can do that without leaving my house," Stein says. A longtime political and social activist, Stein is careful to maintain social distancing rules and encourages his neighbors to do the same. "Everyone stays put in their front yards, but can still hear the music, he says. Stein uses an amplifier so neighbors down the block can also hear it. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - Paul Stein felt useless -- stuck in his Brooklyn brownstone apartment, watching his neighbors suffer deprivations as COVID-19 swept the city.
Then, on television, the retired public-sector lawyer and political activist saw people around the world rallying: 'œI saw people in France and Italy banging pots and pans out their windows, clapping and singing from balconies. I wanted to do this in my neighborhood. 'œ
He knew what he had to do.
He took out his accordion. And he played.
His stage is the steps leading up to his building, his stoop. 'œFor as long as people have been hanging out on their stoops and socializing with their neighbors, they've been doing it from their stoops,'ť he said. 'œThe natural acoustics of the narrow street bring the music to my neighbors.'ť
He regularly sings and plays during the nightly 7 p.m. rounds of applause for health care and front-line workers. Over the past few weeks, he has played four, 45-minute concerts.
Stein had played on his block before: scary music for the children on Halloween while his partner Elena handed out candy. This time, he alerted the neighbors with a telephone call. At 71, he's in a high-risk group. So, he didn't want to encourage a get-together at close distance.
'œI'm very conscientious, he said. 'œI don't want to do anything to promote social gathering.'ť
Stein calls his impromptu concerts the 'œEmergency Accordion Stoop Extravaganza,'ť or 'œEASE.'ť He decorated a construction helmet with the words 'œAccordion Extravaganza'ť on the front and 'œKeep Back Six Feet'ť on the back.
'œElena doesn't like it,'ť he says, 'œbut I do.'ť
The accordion is not an instrument beloved by all; it has been the butt of many jokes (What's the difference between an accordion and a concertina? I takes longer to burn an accordion.) But Stein loves it, and has been playing since he was 8. He has a vast repertoire of songs, and he sometimes adds the melodica, a free-reed type of large harmonica.
'œI'm doing mostly instrumentals. ... a polka, a tango, the '~Hokey Pokey,' and other fun things,'ť he said. 'œSometimes '~This Land is Your Land;' '~La Cucaracha,' the Mexican hat dance; Bill Withers' '~Lean on Me.' People like up-tempo things.'ť
His neighbors seem to appreciate his efforts.
Madeline Chang, who just retired after 20 years teaching in New York City's schools, and partner Tim Sozen danced on a tiny concrete patch in their front yard.
'œWe were inspired because the music is so wonderful '¦ so powerful,'ť Chang said. 'œIt's its own language.'ť
Said Stein: 'œI try to come up with songs of hope. We need to keep our spirits up.'ť
And regardless, "What's more Brooklyn than hanging out with your neighbors on the stoop?'ť
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While nonstop global news about the effects of the coronavirus have become commonplace, so, too, are the stories about the kindness of strangers and individuals who have sacrificed for others. 'œOne Good Thing'ť is an Associated Press continuing series reflecting these acts of kindness.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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CORRECTS AGE TO 16 FROM 13 - In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, neighbor Ben Langsam, 16, looks down from the roof of his family's home in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood while listening to one of Paul Stein's accordion stoop concerts during the coronavirus outbreak in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, musician and activist Paul Stein points to the roof as a neighbor gets a bird's eye view of one of Stein's occasional accordion concerts during the coronavirus outbreak in New York. Says Stein, "I try to come up with songs of hope. We need to keep our spirits up. We need hope now. That's what we need to get through this difficult period." (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, Tim Sozen, right, and his partner Madeline Chang dance on a small patch of concrete in front of their Brooklyn apartment during a stoop concert by accordionist Paul Stein, who plays from his stoop several townhouses away to lift neighbors' spirits while encouraging social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak in the Sunset Park neighborhood in New York. "We were inspired because the music is so wonderful. Music is so powerful. It's its own language," says Chang. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, a woman holds her cell phone up while on a video call with her parents in Ohio so they can listen and watch one of Paul Stein's accordion stoop concerts, known as the "Emergency Accordion Stoop Extravaganza," or "EASE," in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood during the coronavirus outbreak in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, neighbor Claudia Langsam, 13, peers out her window to the street scene below during one of Paul Stein's occasional accordion stoop concerts, known as the "Emergency Accordion Stoop Extravaganza," or EASE, while the coronavirus outbreak continues to affect residents in New York. "Music always lifts people's spirits and brings them together," Stein. Aware that social distancing is difficult for some, Stein said he wanted to do something positive for his neighbors. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, musician Paul Stein, who has played the accordion since he was eight, entertains neighbors with an "Emergency Accordion Stoop Extravaganza" (EASE) concert from the top step of his stoop in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York. "Music'¦lifts people's spirits and brings them together," Stein says. "We need to keep our spirits up. We need hope now. That's what we need to get through this difficult period." (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 photo, musician Paul Stein waves to neighbors from the top step of his stoop while playing an accordion concert for neighbors in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn during the coronavirus outbreak in New York. "Music always lifts people's spirits and brings them together. We need hope now. That's what we need to get through this difficult period," Stein says. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
The Associated Press