Time for another go-round — our third — with The Brian Lehrer Show’s Uncommon Economic Indicators web page, where people submit signs of the recession observed around the New York City area. These won’t show up in any government statistics or charts, but they turn the abstract gloom of macroeconomic numbers into a concrete picture [...]

A couple of months ago we did a post on the Brian Lehrer Show’s Uncommon Economic Indicators web page, where people submit signs of the recession observed around the New York City area. As we wrote, “these won’t show up in any government statistics or charts, but they turn the abstract gloom of macroeconomic numbers into a concrete picture of what’s happening in the community.” Time to check in again on recent submissions:

Odd job applicants – Brooklyn

I am helping a friend who is sick and getting treatment in Boston by packing and moving his belongings out of his apartment in BedStuy. I posted an ad on Craigslist, offering to pay 100 dollars to 3-4 people for several hours of work just to pack the place up. I received 92 postings in the last 24 hours – not just from the expected recent grads, musicians and writers, but also from engineers, architects, PHDs, construction managers, ex-Military, etc… I was shocked.

Chase bank desperate for customers – Manhattan

I was at the Chase ATM in the Chrysler building and the “customer service” reps were staking out the lobby for potential customers. There was a woman next to me using the ATM with a non Chase card and the rep approached her in mid transaction to pitch her into opening a new account. He was standing over her shoulder pointing at the screen telling her she could save the $3 service fee AND give her $100. Clearly an invasion of personal space. She declined, saying she had to be somewhere but he persisted almost dragging her into the office. I know that retail banking is getting competitive but these tactics are more aggressive than charity workers on the streets….