Once a week, Jose Cruz stands confidently in the walkways of the Brooklyn Bridge and holds a sign above his head with a message he believes people need to hear.
“If you’re reading this right now, I just want to let you know that your life matters,” his sign reads. “You are important. You are loved. You are the only you in this world and no one can replace you.”
It continues on the back: “Your mental health is important.”
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Cruz decided two years ago, in the wake of the pandemic, that the world needed more positivity. And so he started holding the signs as part of his platform, which he dubbed The World Needs Love Tour.
His mission is to “spread love the Brooklyn way.”
“We’re all human, we’re all going through things. So, I know how much of an impact words can have,” he said. “I do it because I can make a difference. That’s what it’s all about, creating impact.”
Since starting The World Needs Love Tour, Cruz has amassed over 13,000 followers across his social media platforms with his content. But it’s not about gaining popularity, he said.
“It’s not about me; it’s about the message. We’re all going through something, and I just want to spread love to the people.”
And while he has taken his tour to Miami, Philadelphia and Charlotte, Cruz says “There’s no place like Brooklyn.”
“The Brooklyn Bridge connects us to the world, that’s why I hold the sign on the bridge,” he said.
His mission is to break the stigma that being positive and loving is uncomfortable and not something strangers do for each other. Cruz strives to create a more genuine, more positive society where people can encourage, help and uplift one another.
On a recent tagalong with Cruz, visitors were delighted to find him and his sign on the Brooklyn Bridge. Many stop to read his message and walk away with smiles on their faces. Others gesture toward Cruz to show their appreciation.
“I get anything from head nods to fist pumps to smiles to hugs,” he said.
Cruz typically stands motionless with his sign, wearing a smile on his face so that people feel welcome to read. Occasionally, he will interact with people who enjoy his signs and encourage them to “spread love,” just like he is. Sometimes, he said, people will stop and have long conversations with him because of his message. Many will take photos of him and his sign, with the bridge and the Manhattan skyline in the background.
Cruz welcomes the photos, calling it a “way to connect with people all over the world.”
“It’s super dope when people tag me in their photo dumps from their New York trip. You see the Statue of Liberty, you see the skyline, and you see this man holding up a sign on the bridge,” he said. “But it’s not about me, it’s about how their friends get to see the message I’m holding up.”
At the end of the day, it all comes down to love, the Brooklynite said.
“I’m just trying to inspire other people to find their purpose, to spread positivity, to spread love,” he said. “I think the way the world is right now, there’s a lot of negativity. There are a lot of bad things going on and that’s what seems to get highlighted and shared the most and people get comfortable with that negativity. So, I’m just trying to flip the coin and spread love and positivity.”
A version of this story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNewYork Metro
