East Side story

METROPOLITAN DIARY, THE NEW YORK TIMES

In tribute to a New York City institution, this week’s Metropolitan Diaries offers readers’ tales of encounters with Stephen Sondheim.

Dear Diary:

One Sunday night in the early 1980s, I dropped by my office on Park Avenue and 48th Street. As I was heading across Park Avenue to a parking garage in my small two-seater, a car ran a red light and T-boned me.

My car was crushed, and I was pretty shaken up. The police came to the scene. The other driver told the officers that I had run the light.

There were three people on a nearby corner who had seen the whole thing. Without hesitating, one approached the officers. He told them what he had witnessed and confirmed my story: The other driver had run a red light before crashing into me.

Still shaken, I approached the man and thanked him. He was reserved, humble and forthcoming. I asked for his name and phone number in case my insurance company needed to contact him. It was only when he told me his name that I learned this witness was Stephen Sondheim. Extraordinary!

The insurance company said later that the other driver’s claim had been closed because of the witness’s account. I called Mr. Sondheim to thank him again for stepping forward.

He asked how I was feeling.

— Barry A. Bryer