Valentine’s Day in New York City
Valentine’s Day is approaching, and love is in the air in New York City.
A citywide initiative is encouraging New Yorkers to pen anonymous love letters, which can then be dropped into red mailboxes located in various small businesses. This year, the Love Letter Gallery received over 1,000 submissions directed to everyone from partners to doormen and roommates.
“The Love Letter Gallery was created to honor love in all its varieties. It’s really a feel-good project that aims to share experiences of love, loss, and connections,” said Kelsey Hayes, the project’s founder and resident of the East Village.
The red mailboxes were placed in locations around Manhattan and Brooklyn, including coffee shops like Café Paradiso in Soho and Elk in Nolita, as well as jewelry stores and dinner party venues.
A selection of thirty notable letters—some uplifting, others a bit more poignant—will be showcased at a one-day exhibition on February 7th, hosted by Howard.
One touching letter read, “I don’t really have the courage to discuss this face-to-face, so I’ll say it here: You mean a lot to me.”
Another letter expressed, “I don’t know how you do it, but just being yourself makes everything feel lighter.”
Some letters were even addressed to the city itself. One writer expressed feelings about finding love in the bustling metropolis: “The person I came to love finally loved me back.”
Kelsey Hayes, who owns pop-up florist, curated flower arrangements inspired by some of the letters for the exhibition.
Last year’s letters featured themes like unrequited love, with one submission lamenting a crush on “the most beautiful girl who works at a bookstore.”
Another letter, from an “artist with big dreams,” beautifully addressed the complexity of love by saying, “I love you, but I also love my high school sweetheart who can’t come to the city. Sometimes it feels like my heart is stuck between two worlds.”
And, some submissions pushed the boundaries; one particularly bold letter read, “The sex was so good that the neighbors lit up cigarettes afterward.” It certainly made an impact!
