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Visitors Flock to Bronx’s ‘Joker’ Stairs

People pose on the steps between two apartment buildings, Monday Oct. 28, 2019, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP)
People pose on the steps between two apartment buildings, Monday Oct. 28, 2019, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP)
    New York, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Visitors Flock to Bronx’s ‘Joker’ Stairs

People pose on the steps between two apartment buildings, Monday Oct. 28, 2019, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP)
People pose on the steps between two apartment buildings, Monday Oct. 28, 2019, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP)

The long staircases built between two residential buildings in New York’s Bronx area linking the Shakespeare and Anderson avenues may not appear to be much of a tourist attraction.

However, the city's residents and tourists have been flocking to this spot since the staircases recently appeared in the Joker movie, the German news agency reported.

The unattractive stairs have made the background of countless selfies shared on Instagram.

Local media reported that some people are even wearing the Joker costume to dance down the stairs, similar to Joaquin Phoenix’s character in the movie.

In the movie, Phoenix dances as he goes down the steps, wearing a bright red suit and clown makeup.

However, not all people are happy with the new situation, and many have used social media to complain about the surprising flow of tourists, disturbing the calm of their neighborhood.

The film, starring Phoenix as Batman's notorious foe, hit $93.5 million of revenues during its first weekend in North American theaters.

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Varieties

World's Oldest Person, a Brazilian Nun, Dies Aged 116

Nuns walk down stairs in the center of Rome on April 30, 2025. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
Nuns walk down stairs in the center of Rome on April 30, 2025. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
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World's Oldest Person, a Brazilian Nun, Dies Aged 116

Nuns walk down stairs in the center of Rome on April 30, 2025. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
Nuns walk down stairs in the center of Rome on April 30, 2025. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

The world's oldest person, Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, died Wednesday at the age of 116, having barely survived infancy and attributing her long life to God, her order and two longevity trackers said.

The title now passes to Ethel Caterham, a resident of Surrey, England, who is 115 years old, according to the US Gerontological Research Group (GRG) and the LongeviQuest database.

Born on June 8, 1908, Canabarro became the world's oldest person following the death in January of Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, who was also aged 116.

The Congregation of Teresian Sisters of Brazil in Porto Alegre announced Canabarro's passing Wednesday in a statement in which it gave thanks "for the dedication and devotion" she had shown in life, AFP reported.

LongeviQuest, in an obituary, said Canabarro had been a frail child, and "many doubted she would survive."

She became a nun in 1934 at the age of 26, between World Wars I and II.

Canabarro had attributed her longevity to God, saying: "He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything," according to LongeviQuest.

For her 110th birthday, she received a blessing from Pope Francis, who himself died last Monday aged 88.

Although she had claimed her date of birth was May 27, 1908, "her documented birth date according to records is June 8, 1908," GRG director Robert Young told AFP in January.

LongeviQuest said Canabarro had been the 15th-oldest documented person in history, and the second-oldest nun after France's Lucile Randon, who lived to the age of 118 and died in 2023.