Please, have you seen this sax? We're told it was abducted from Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick on Wednesday morning, potentially saddling its 11-year-old custodian and his family with a hefty fee.
Flyers advertising the instrument's disappearance have circulated on social media, asking anyone who's seen a saxophone with "leaf like things" on the side to please call with information. "If I cannot find it, my family has to pay $1,800 to my school, which we cannot afford," the explanation — written in a child's handwriting — reads. The note's author explained that the family would not get "angry" if it had been stolen, they just want it back.
Anybody seen a sax?
Gothamist called the number at the bottom of the flyer and reached Louisa Lappin, formerly an owner of Gotham City Lounge, a beloved Bushwick bar that closed in April. She told us the missing sax belonged to her son Thor, who just entered the sixth grade at a local public intermediate school.
"Today’s his birthday, so it's a bit of a bummer, the timing of it," Louisa said. Leaving the house for school yesterday, she said Thor noticed a package had arrived for him from Australia — Lappin is Australian — and his excitement so distracted him that he didn't notice he'd left his saxophone case on the ground until it was too late. When Louisa returned home around 8 a.m., the sax was gone.
Lappin said she filed a police report, but because the instrument was not insured, she says she must now pay the school a hefty sum if it doesn't turn up. (Though the flyer pegs the fee at $1,800, Lappin has since been informed by Noah's teacher that the number is closer to $1,000.) So if you've seen it, or if you have it, get in touch. A GoFundMe started by one Kathryn McNelly has raised over $500, but a solid lead would probably be a pretty good birthday present.
A boy and his sax in happier times.
