LAPTOPS
Starting at a Starbucks on the Upper East Side, I asked Don, 28, if I could borrow his MacBook Air to check my e-mail. He wrinkled his nose and said, “Sorry, but I’m about to leave.” Mary-Ann, 21, was open to negotiation: “I’ll let you read e-mail if you give me your driver’s license for collateral.” People were more lax about their laptops at Rapture Café & Books in the East Village; two strangers agreed to a loan. At a branch of the New York Public Library, folks weren’t in such a giving mood. “No, you can’t borrow it,” said 32-year-old Besty. “I’m in the middle of something important and time-sensitive.” Well, I never!

CELL PHONES
“Excuse me, can I use your phone?” I asked Anthony, 30, at Madison Square Park. Without saying a word, he handed me his cell. When I asked him why he was so trusting, he shrugged, “If you do something good, it’ll come around.” At the Johnny Rockets near NYU, I asked Darryl, 24, if I could call my mom with his iPhone. “Your mom doesn’t live in Dubai, does she?” he joked as he handed it over.

LIP BALM
While most New Yorkers gladly parted with pricey gadgets, they wouldn’t share their 99¢ lip balm. When I asked Elsa, 35, if I could borrow some goo, she cleared her throat and said, “Oh, um, I have a cold.” Ali, 26, the owner of a tasty-looking pot of Burt’s Bees, lectured me: “You know, herpes doesn’t always show.” And Tarnisha, 31, outright refused: “I don’t know who the last person you kissed was, what the last thing you ate was or what you’ve been doing with your mouth. I can’t let you borrow this!” Only Jim, 40, in Battery Park, agreed to save my chapped kissers—and did me one better. “You can keep it!” he said, handing over a tube of cherry-flavored ChapStick. Thanks, pal.

JACKETS AND SWEATERS
I was feeling chilly at the Tick Tock Diner in midtown, so I asked Mike, 26, if I could borrow his jacket. “Sure…until dinner is over, right?” Women weren’t so generous. “No, I’m cold too,” said Stacey, 22, at Cookshop. Cybill, 57, said, “This is Burberry. I can’t let anyone borrow it.” At Cooper Union, Rose, 32, was perplexed. “People ask for cigarettes, money and MetroCards, but you want my coat?” I assured her that I wasn’t homeless, but the answer was still hell to the no.

Conclusion: New Yorkers are cool if you need to make a phone call, but forget the ChapStick and Burberry!

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