I've been a member of both BookMooch and Paperback Swap for a while; these are great websites you can use to trade used books with other people around the country and the world. You post whichever books you're willing to part with, and if someone likes what you've got they send you a request for it. If you accept (some people won't send book internationally because you are responsible for your own postage), you put the book in the mail and receive a point which you can spend getting a book from someone else's collection. Great system.
The problem is, I'm a bit of a book hoarder. If I like what I read, I want to keep it, partly for completely illogical, sentimental reasons and partly because I really like lending books to friends. Enter New York's unofficial giveaway system. Instead of putting useful things they no longer want in trash cans, thoughtful citizens often set them on trash can lids so that their throw-aways can find homes with interested parties. I've done this before with a set of curtains I no longer wanted and they were gone within minutes. And whenever I see books, I always paw through them and often take a few to post on these websites. Sometimes I get duds - I've got about five that have been sitting in a dusty pile for several months with no takers - but sometimes I hit gold and have been able to trade books I have no interest in for books I really want. Recycling at its best.
I've never seen quite this many in once place, but I did come across several large boxes chock full of old books once. The super of the building caught me rifling through and told me to help myself - less for him to move to the curb on trash day, I guess. 
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