Scraping by on Scrap Metal

The line had formed early outside Cropsey Scrap Iron & Metal in Coney Island — moving vans and minivans, box trucks, pickup trucks and rented U-Hauls.

They waited in a queue that stretched around the block, 33 vehicles in all. Each vehicle was packed with discarded metal items: refrigerators, stoves, radiators, barbecues, a pile of aluminum joists, a dismantled child’s swing set.

Benny Mineo had never seen so many competitors in his 25 years of collecting scrap metal for a living.

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