//metrognome logo// ¶ Does Dan Biederman have too high an opinion of Mankind? ¶ I thought about this the other day when I wandered into Bryant Park — the House that Dan Rebuilt — and noticed that volunteers were handing out popular books, magazines, newspapers and even seat cushions. ¶ You may see these things as nice amenities in a beautiful park. I see them as part of a grand social experiment. The reading material and "tushions" (as the fanny-savers are called) are just the latest examples of the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation’s abiding faith in the people of New York. ¶ This is the same quasi-private agency that has scattered 3,000 easy-to-steal chairs throughout the nine-acre park. Yet Biederman, the corporation president, says that only four dozen are stolen a year. ¶ OK, that’s furniture. Even the most larcenous New Yorker would feel awkward tucking a green folding chair under his arm. But People magazine or The New Yorker? They’re so easy to steal, you almost feel obligated to slip them into your bag. ¶ Almost, but not quite. Biederman reports that in the first three months, the park has retained 85 percent of its books and magazines. And the three-week tushion experiment has been even more successful. ¶ Diogenes, meet Dan Biederman. ¶ "Our success with the honor system is all related to the broken-windows theory," Biederman said. "We’ve eliminated visual clues that tell people they can behave badly. And we trust our fellow man." ¶ I wasn’t buying what Biederman was selling — it just seemed too optimistic, too Midwestern — so I called legendary forensic psychologist N.G. Berrill to see if there was a psychological basis for Biederman’s faith. ¶ Berrill said he wasn’t surprised to hear that honesty had broken out in Bryant Park. ¶ "When you encourage trust, people respond favorably," Berrill said. "It may sound counter-intuitive in New York, but Freud said we have a subconscious respect for others. It’s called the super-ego." ¶ Apparently, this Freud guy said that when we’re kids, we actually absorb all the stuff our parents tell us, like "Respect people and they’ll respect you." ¶ "Clearly, the super-ego is alive and well and living in New York City," Berrill concluded. ¶ It would appear so. On the day I went to Bryant Park to check out the status of the honor system, people were enjoying all the park’s offerings — and returning them dutifully. ¶ After watching this spectacle for a while, I noticed that Gulden’s Mustard was handing out sandwiches, slathered in their latest concoction. The sandwiches were free, one to a customer. ¶ I ate one and when I was finished, I went over and took another, of course. I mean, someone had to violate the honor system. This is New York, after all! ¶ --30-- gersh.kuntzman@verizon.net