A painted iron bench that has sat for about 15 years outside a Long Island City home and become a neighborhood landmark was stolen in the early hours of Sept. 1, its owner said, leaving neighbors and families who used the spot for photos and play outraged.
The piece, known locally as the "Gnome Bench" after the painted statuettes that adorned it and inscribed with a quote from poet Charles Bukowski, had been bolted to a spot on 47th Road near 11th Street until recent patio work loosened its anchors, owner and artist Christopher Carlson told the New York Post. Carlson said the bench weighs about "a hundred pounds and some change." He and his wife, Susan Phuvasitkul, filed a police report and are asking neighbors to check security footage for clues because their own Ring camera was not working at the time of the theft.
Carlson said he originally painted the bench "for fun" and added gnomes over the years after preschool groups and local families showed delight in the piece. "It became a weird thing of its own," he said, adding that small gnomes occasionally went missing but that the theft of an entire iron bench felt different and deliberate. A note left on the couple's doorstep asked for the bench's safe return, the couple said.
Phuvasitkul described the removal as "bad karma," saying it deprived neighborhood children of a regular place to sit and for families to pause and take pictures. Passersby and neighbors posted about the vanished landmark on social media, including a Reddit thread in which users lamented the loss.
A 7-year-old neighborhood boy, who had regularly stopped to sit on the bench, said he did not understand why anyone would take it. His mother said the bench made walks down the block more enjoyable for the community. Carlson said he suspects the theft was planned and involved a van but declined to speculate further on motives.
Police in the area were notified and a report was filed, according to the owners. The couple said they have been canvassing neighbors for footage and information that might help locate the bench. They acknowledged their own security system was down at the time of the theft and urged anyone with video from the early-morning hours of Sept. 1 to come forward.
Carlson said he does not expect the bench to be returned but plans to make a new piece. "What can you do? Make another one, something different," he said, noting the bench had grown into a special part of the neighborhood over the past decade and a half. The couple and neighbors said they hope anyone who took the bench will reconsider and bring it back.
Local public art and small-scale neighborhood installations often serve as informal gathering points and photo stops, especially in residential areas; the loss of such a fixture drew swift reaction from residents who said it had become part of their regular route and community memory. Carlson and Phuvasitkul said they will continue to work on their patio and their broader plans for the space despite the theft.