I published an article about a free L-shaped desk seen on Hamilton Avenue on U.S. Election Day in 2020. Today is the 2024 edition of Election Day. To mark the occasion, I decided to publish a new article about three free desks seen in Brooklyn. Two of the three desks even came with notes, similar to a free gallon of water I brought home in 2022. Stay tuned until the end for a bonus non-desk discovery.

I photographed our first free desk in Carroll Gardens on August 21, 2024.

A children's writing desk on the sidewalk outside a home in Carroll Gardens. There is a piece of paper taped to the side of the desk which reads "FREE DESK ROLL ME HOME!" Sure enough, the bottom of the desk does have wheels.

I was inspired to photograph this desk because I liked the “FREE DESK / ROLL ME HOME!” note taped to the side. To be sure, the desk had wheels. Provided that the person who wanted the free furniture ddid not have far to travel, wheels certainly made it easier to take advantage of the (free) offer. Now let us look at the front view.

Front view of free children's desk with rollers left outside a home in Carroll Gardens. A note on one of the bottom shelves reads "Just unscrew and move this shelf up to hold keyboard"

This free desk also came with some instructions for the keyboard shelf/tray. The note is hard to read in the photo, so I quote it below:

Just unscrew and move this shelf up to hold keyboard

Whoever left this desk outside put some effort into making sure it got off to a rolling start in its new home. Given its size, this free desk was almost certainly built for children. I suspect its previous owner outgrew it. The keyboard shelf is an interesting touch these days since I assume that to the extent most kids would be using a computer for school, it would be a laptop – probably one of those under-powered Chromebooks. I submit it would make for a nice little writing desk when not being used with a computer.

I photographed another desk in Carroll Gardens with a note on August 24, 2024.

Free brown desk with silver legs and desk chair left on sidewalk in Carroll Gardens. There is a note on top of the desk. It reads "FREE DESK!" and after two underlines "Take me home" with a smiley face.

This note did not come with instructions like the previous desk, but it did come with a little smiley face. Who would not want to take home a desk with a smiley face? The note said nothing about the office chair with the desk, but I presumed that the chair was also free.

This desk was more substantial than the children’s desk and amenable to adult usage. However, it did not have wheels, and given its size it may not have been readily transportable by car. I would not be surprised if the chair, which had wheels and was much lighter, went before the desk. In any event, the desk was not out on the sidewalk for too long, so I suspect it found a new home not long after I photographed it.

Finally, let us skip ahead to October 9, 2024. I found a free desk left in a less dignified posture, than the first two desks:

Blue desk with z-shaped legs next to a pile of garbage bags on curb in Columbia Street Waterfront District.

This poor desk was left on the curb with a pile of garbage bags. While it was free, it was in danger of being taken by the sanitation workers before someone looking to give it a new home chanced upon it.

I found this desk on the Columbia Street Waterfront District side of Hicks Street. Hicks Street, as I explained in previous articles, is bisected by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway beginning at Atlantic Avenue. I once wrote an article about the Summit Street Bridge, which connects Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street Waterfront District over the expressway gap. What you see here is the Congress Street expressway crossing, which connects Columbia Street Waterfront District to Cobble Hill. It is a ways down from the Summit Street Bridge and yet another bridge I have covered, the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge. I will venture that it is a good 10-15 minute walk to the slightly closer Summit Street Bridge.

Blue desk with z-shaped legs next to a pile of garbage bags on curb in Columbia Street Waterfront District. In the background is the Congress Street crossing over the BQE and the Cobble Hill side of Hicks Street.
This is the Columbia Street Waterfront District side of Hicks Street and Congress. Across the bridge is the Cobble Hill side of the same.

I will confess that I was tempted to take the blue desk. I liked the desk and it looked light. But did I need the desk? I did not. In fact, I had recently received a portable laptop desk. Thus, I left the blue desk. Perhaps it found a good home even with its poor location and lack of inviting note.

My leaving the blue desk did not, however, mean that I left my walk empty-handed. After I crossed Hicks Street into Cobble Hill and turned left from there, I came across an interesting non-desk with a note on Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights.

A magnifying mirror sticking out of a reusable shopping bag on the sidewalk in Brooklyn Heights. A note taped to its front reads "TAKE WORKING LIGHTED Magnifying mirror"
It looks like it is asking me to take it home.

I had actually walked just past the light before I stopped to read the note. The note insisted that I “TAKE” the “WORKING LIGHTED magnifying mirror.” In light of the fact that this light was on the ground, I would have most likely kept walking but for the note. But the note stated that the light was working. It had not rained that day, so I had no reason to doubt the promise of the note. What happened next?

A lighted magnifying mirror on a desk. A note taped to its front reads "TAKE WORKING LIGHTED Magnifying mirror"

I confirmed that the light does indeed work. Talk about a good find.

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