I’m walking down 4th Avenue in Brooklyn on my way to work when I see, in the distance, a man kneeling in prayer. His prayer rug is laid out in the middle of the sidewalk, about halfway down a block fenced in by scaffolding. It’s not unusual to see observant Muslims putting down prayer rugs nearly anywhere in NYC – in the past I’ve witnessed this in parking lots, on boardwalks, even next to noisy construction sites – but there’s usually some effort made not to block the way of others. This man, however, who’s positioned himself perpendicular to the direction I’m walking (is this even facing east?), is taking up nearly the entire sidewalk. I hesitate, wondering if it’s rude of me to pass by him so closely (I’ve already entered the block he’s on, and the scaffolding makes it difficult to step out onto the street to avoid him)… It’s not until I’m about ten meters away that what I’m looking at comes fully into focus: the ‘prayer rug’ is in fact a sidewalk grate, and the man is kneeling down trying to fish out something that’s fallen down inside.