New York Knicks fans might do anything for a piece of the team’s first championship in more than five decades — including, apparently, taking an orange-and-blue trash can off the street.
Videos have flooded the internet of a woman decked out in Knicks gear walking off with the vibrant wastebasket during the team’s championship parade. She had boldly dumped the dirty contents onto the street, despite a crowd of onlookers and at least one person filming.
She was then spotted taking the emptied can with her on the subway, with a smile.
The woman, Angie Baez, 40, returned the trash can on Wednesday morning, said Vincent Gragnani, a spokesman for the New York City Department of Sanitation. She was fined $175 for littering and “impeding” sanitation operations, Mr. Gragnani said.
That was the least of the fallout for Ms. Baez, though.
Ms. Baez, who was until recently an executive director for community and industry engagement for JPMorgan Chase, was no longer with the company, a spokeswoman said.
Ms. Baez did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. By then, her story had been splashed across tabloids and conservative media, often emphasizing her work in diversity programming, and had attracted vitriolic comments on social media.
The sanitation department had installed around half a dozen orange-and-blue trash cans along or near the championship parade route, Mr. Gragnani said. The gesture led Knicks fans to speculate online they would swiftly be stolen, as official team merchandise was selling fast. (The sanitation department was “not aware” of any other purloined Knicks trash cans, Mr. Gragnani said.)
Shortly after Ms. Baez returned the can, the department posted a photo of it on social media with a graphic that read “Welcome Back!” and “We Missed You!” The post garnered more than 25,000 likes.
Mr. Gragnani pointed out that smaller versions of the trash cans are for sale for $168.
Meaghan Chillianis, the chief operating officer for OnlyNY, which is selling both full-size and miniature versions of the cans (the mini runs $58), said the company had partnered with the city sanitation department to “celebrate the city’s championship season in a way that felt authentic.”
She added that the cans had not been created in response to the viral videos of Ms. Baez.
Rather, she said in a statement, the project “provided an opportunity to recognize the sanitation workers whose efforts help keep New York moving during major civic events and everyday life alike.”
“It’s unfortunate the community of local pride is being overshadowed by one person’s actions,” the statement continued.
The New York Police Department said it was not investigating the incident.
