It started as a joke between friends. But in just six weeks, “Indy Bench Mench” Anderson York has received nearly two dozen orders for installation of his handmade wooden benches from Indianapolis residents who take the lack of seating in their neighborhoods seriously.
York’s guerrilla urbanist bench project began this fall, when he and his wife were taking a walk with their 6-week-old son in their Indianapolis neighborhood of Broad Ripple. They stopped to rest where a pedestrian-friendly rail trail crosses a street near their house, but there was no place to sit.
York is a sales manager by day, but he moonlights as an assistant to his carpenter father-in-law. He decided to build a simple bench he could install by the trail crossing.
“I have capable hands, and the world is kind of crappy right now, so when I’m working with my hands, it’s almost like my way of escaping some of it while providing a benefit to someone,” he said.
York bought four 8-foot-long, pressure-treated pine boards, constructed a simple Aldo Leopold wildlife bench (a primitive bench made for wildlife watching) and put it at the crossing. He took a photo of his wife sitting on the bench and posted it on his Facebook page with the caption, “Build benches so hot girls have a place to breastfeed.”
“One of my friends made a comment about how, the next thing you know, you’re going to have an Instagram page called Bench Mench and you’re going to be making benches for people,” York said. “So I made the Instagram account @indybenchmench and posted, ‘If there’s a place to sit and it doesn’t have a bench, send $40 and I will make a bench appear.’”
York thought that was the end of the joke. But he soon had his first order, followed by 21 more. “I got so many tags on Instagram saying, ‘I’ve wanted a bench here for forever,’” he said.
Flying below the radar
York charges only for his materials and the gas to deliver the benches, which he and others have placed in Indianapolis parks, schoolyards and bus stops. He encourages people to paint the benches to make them part of their community.
York said he hasn’t had any official communication about his benches, although an Indianapolis city council member contacted him informally. Aware that his benches aren’t approved by the city or the IndyGo transit network, he tries to fly under the radar.
“I figure if I follow some easy rules, like not blocking the sidewalk or the field of view on a street, no one will care. Public works employees have so many other things to worry about,” he said.
York believes his Indy Bench Mench movement will eventually run its course. But that won’t stop his guerrilla urbanist efforts. Earlier this year, he planted 250 native fruit trees in city greenways and parks, transporting them around town via a cart attached to his bike.
“I’m always finding something to do that’s a little bit of good mischief,” he said. “When people ask me if I get permission to do things, I say, ‘You know you can just do things, right? You don’t have to have permission to do good things.’”
