How Will the Great Slope Parking Experiment Play Out?

cities are for people not cars. here we have another example of sacrificing a thriving city neighborhood - dirty streets - for the benefit of car owners. if people "can't live without their car" they should pay for a garage space or move to the suburbs.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 9:46 AM

ha ha ha....fun times!

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 9:52 AM

aren't park slopers entitled to everything, including free parking for as long as they want it?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 9:52 AM

I voted "other" and I said:

It's bad for the City (lost ticket revenue) bad for residents (dirty streets) and bad for car owners (people will store vehicles on the street like it's their driveway-spots will be harder to find) You'll likely see a few more homeless people living in their cars now due to this lame idea.

Why don't they simply replace the new parking regulation signs one block at a time? They vary from block to block anyway. Duh!

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 9:56 AM

"It will be good for the neighborhood b/c easier parking means more business for most of the shops and restaurants."

How does this possibly make parking easier? It will be interesting to see what happens if people start using the streets as long term parking, the cars get broken into, bums start living in them, the windows get covered with garbage bags. Can't wait!

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:14 AM

Because of all the press, now the whole city knows where to have no alternate side for the summer...will be a long term parking lot.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:17 AM

Totally agree with 9:56 - There's is really no upside to this. In the absence of rules you'll just have more bad behaviours like people parking cars for extended periods, those cars getting broken into, garbage stuck in gutters. Duh is right...if the sign on a block has changed then enforce according to that sign.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:17 AM

If the city needs to do this at all, then why not suspend regulations temporarily in a much smaller area (say, a few blocks) while signs are replaced systematically throughout the neighborhood. And why do it in the summer, when trash is going to get all nasty and smelly?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:19 AM

"And why do it in the summer, when trash is going to get all nasty and smelly?"

Because the city is run by morons, maroons and macaroons. Who's going to clean up the streets when the Stroller mafia is in the Hamptons all summer?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:24 AM

Name one other beneficiary other than lazy car owners? This is pathetic.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:26 AM

I live in Park Slope and drive a car (and, yes, 9:52, we are entitled to everything, even - gasp- our cars). Can someone explain to me how it will work when we only move the car once a week, as the NY Times said today. If there is no "alternating", how do they get both sides of the street clean? I don't get it.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:27 AM

this can work. put out more public garbage cans, street cleaners can still come through but it will be in the center for now. sanitation will have to step up during this time with additional garbage pickup (especially on the corners).
if they planned this a little better, the neighborhood would have been notified and maybe we could issue plaques to keep outsiders from using PS as a parking lot.
also, i am a little nervous about them putting alt parking back into effect with as little/short notice as we had with the ban going into effect and they will start tkting like crazy on the first day back...keep your ears and eyes open

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:30 AM

"If there is no "alternating", how do they get both sides of the street clean?"

They don't, that's the issue dimwit. What else do you need us to explain?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:32 AM

Actually, 10:32, you didn't explain anything. And I'm not sure it makes me a dimwit by asking this question. When the street cleaning rules go back in effect, in the fall, and are reduced to ONCE a week for 90 minutes (which is the plan), I am wondering how it will work.
Have i explained my question to better? Perhaps, 10:32, you ought to take a breather and not answer this one.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:40 AM

Streets won't be any cleaner OR dirtier, as those streeet sweepers don't actually accomplish anything...they're simply a front by the city to perpetuate alternate side & all the acellary $$ generated by ticketing.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:43 AM

"put out more public garbage cans"
"sanitation will have to step up during this time with additional garbage pickup"
Yeah, the city will do that right away, sir.

"the neighborhood would have been notified and maybe we could issue plaques to keep outsiders from using PS as a parking lot."
neighborhood-issued plaques will keep outsiders from parking there? Did you just fall off the turnip truck?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:43 AM

Who benefits from this? The lazy car owner, in other words you have enabled a slacker to be more of a slacker. The sewer drains will be clogged after heavy rains, the garbage will bake in the heat, and the debris will spread to the sidewalk all this as the lazy car owner sits on their couch blasting the a/c and laughing.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:44 AM

I continue to be baffled as to why so many choose to own cars in neighborhoods well-served by public transportation. One of the things I was most excited about when moving back to Brooklyn after a brief stint in the midwest was getting rid of my car once and for all. When I want a car for errands or to get out of the city, Zipcar or a rental does the trick.
I can understand car ownership for those who use them daily. Why do others endure the hassle and expense?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:51 AM

Alternate parking or not, there's plenty of garbage and debris in front of my house in Park Slope in spite of the street garbage can. Some poeple are just too unthinking to be bothered tossing their garbage into the street can, even when it's in plain view.

Once last year some contractor dumped a bunch of AC filters in my side yard and this woman putting stuff in the back of her car threw a big cardboard carton on top of that. I saw her and threw it right back into her trunk.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 10:57 AM

10:51, because Americans believe it is their god-given right to own as many vehicles as possible and drive them over any type of surface they desire. New York should follow Paris's lead and do away with all on street parking. If you feel you are 'entitled' to own a car at all costs then you should be entitled to pay $20 a day to have to keep it in a garage in Gowanus.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:01 AM

I live in Manhattan and am totally going to bring my car over here for the summer. Its worth a subway ride to not be a slave to the street cleaning for a few months.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:06 AM

10:32, it's simple. The cars will be banned from one side of the street for 90 minutes on a monday, and the other side of the street for 90 minutes on tuesday. The difference is they do each side only once a week, as opposed to twice a week. The city generally allows double parking during street-cleaning hours.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:12 AM

Amen, 11:01! Imagine how much nicer our neighborhoods would be without long strips of idle cars lining each street. Streets would be wider, leaving more room for bikes. Deliveries and cabs dropping off/picking up would be able to fully pull over, improving traffic flow and reducing the honking that plagues narrow, blocked streets. More 2-hour parking zones would free up spaces for those coming from other neighborhoods to patronize local businesses.

If you can't afford to garage your car, you can't afford to own a car!

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:14 AM

Thank you 11:02 and 11:12 for your (civilized) answers. In most of Park Slope, it's already once on one side and once on the other. In fact I can't think of a street where you have to move it twice a week on each side. So I don't know why the city needs to suspend the rules all summer when most of the streets will stay as they always were. I think this is why I was perplexed.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:17 AM

10:44 stop spying on me it is rude

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:21 AM

11:06,

Thanks a lot - Better watch your "kar"ma!

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:21 AM

why are some people so judgemental about others who own a car? it goes hand in hand with people being narrow minded and judgement about other things. Some people have cars out of a necessity, even in the city. i lived in NY 9 years without a car and had a change of circumstances that required me to have a car in order to travel to central new jersey on the weekends and occassionally during the week. doesn't mean i'm lazy. doesn't mean i should have to pay for a garage as long as there is street parking available. i make my own choice about whether the hassle of street parking is worth the money saved on a parking garage. that is my decision based on my needs. don't impose your own standards on others, especially when you DO NOT know others' circumstances. very narrow minded and "moral majority" of those of you bashing car owners. And, cars that are abandoned in PS for the summer should be ticketed, towed, or worse. when the sign-changing and supsended alternate parking happens in other neighborhoods, there will be pay back to those who dump their cars in PS

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:25 AM

You miss the main point -- it will be great for neighborhoods NEAR Park Slope. Just put your car there and leave it, and you don't have to worry about alternate side. Great for vacations.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:28 AM

11:25: Are you suggesting that people who live in park Slope are judgemental & feel that everyone should exercise the same lifestyle as them? I don't believe it....

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:31 AM

Has it started yet???? I'm going away for Memorial Day long weekend and want to move both of our cars over to PS for about a week and a half. Can any of you tell me if there's space on your block and where you're located?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:33 AM

11:31 -- shocking i know. but i don't think the posters bashing car owners are just from PS. those who believe they know what's best for everyone seem to be everywhere; though honestly, its a mind set i expect more from red states than from cosmopolitan, viva la difference, new york city.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:36 AM

sure thing, 11:33 -- just let us know make, model and tag # of your car, and we'll be sure to keep an eye on it.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:38 AM

Alternate side of the street parking makes parking EASIER... if you actuallly use your car on a daily basis.

Parking becomes stagnent when you only have to move your car once a week. People who need a car for whatever purpose, and use them on a regular basis should prefer as many parking regulations as possible. People who shoudl be discouraged from having a car are those who keep it around and hardly ever use it.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:50 AM

11:50, the real concern is not the change from twice-a-week to once-a-week... it's that there will be no street cleaning regulation of any kind for about 3 months. so no one will be motivated to move their cars and others will seek out long term parking in PS

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:56 AM

" was totally wrong when I suggested a few days ago that this moratorium would last only a few days, arguing that even the city could change a few signs relatively quickly. Remarkable how bone-headed and inexplicable the decision to create parking gridlock for months is. Thankfully I live on a block where, due to poverty and lack of development, parking is quite easy. You just have to make sure your car isn't shot up in a drive by shooting. Oh well..."

"due to poverty and lack of development"

Eh Putnamdenizen, I cant find parking now. With all that construction on Fulton St! Plus people do own cars in your neighborhood, homeboy.

If the have 1 cleaning a week in CH, parking will be a nightmare. Plus with gas over 4.00 one will move their cars.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end....

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 11:59 AM

Of course there are exceptions -- some circumstances warrant car ownership and no one is in a position to judge for anyone else. But the fact remains that each individual's car ownership negatively impacts his or her community. Cars take up a huge amount of space. They are noisy, pollute our air, and the high demand for gasoline props up fuel prices that then carry over into prices for other goods. By now we should all be aware of what this means for food prices not only in our own local communities, but around the world. I just hope car owners are truly considering ALL of the costs involved, and not just those that directly impact their schedules and pocketbooks.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:00 PM

11:36--I actually live in one of those Red States (not saying which), but I've noticed that people here are much less in my business than they were when I lived in BK. People here also seem to be much more tollerant of different lifestyles, voting habits, stroller choices, etc...
I always find it amusing that those who claim to be the most liberal (small L) and open are the ones who are the most dismissive & critcal of the choices of others.
And yes, I realize we're getting waaaay off topic here.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:08 PM

How are you going to get to your catskills weekend retreat without a car though?

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:09 PM

Cars are coffins.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:11 PM

Even though I'm broke, jobless and homeless, I'm going to rent 10 cars from Avis from June to September and leave them all in Park Slope just because.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:12 PM

I see a pattern here! You are some nimby pazty bastards! Self serving elitist snobby bastards. You come in from outer space and you want the whole world to conform to you wishes!!!

No shooting Ghetto! No cars "You should ride bikes"! You poor people get out! Obnoxious stroller moms! I'm better than you! You are some mean people I think you suck!!!

A person pays for the right to drive a car thru insurance, gas, maintenance and possibility of someone breaking in! One day this garbage is gonna end... I know the last few years people have been drinking the Kool aid and think they have a right to crap on everything and everyone.....

If you don't like car then move to a area that don't have them!
Close the door on your way out!

The What

Someday this war is gonna end....

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:12 PM

That's OK, 11:36PM. These "liberal" and "tolerant" communities would not tolerate a McCain sign on private property. It would be history in one day.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:22 PM

Just testing to see how easy it is to impersonate The What.

Hey, this is pretty easy after all.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end....

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:32 PM

12:12, that's a decent impression, but the post is written much too well. You need to throw in a few posts from other commenters, some links from CNBC, chaotic punctuation, poor sentence structure, nonsensical rantings, etc.

It must suck for The What that people are posting under his name.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end....

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:37 PM

12:08, 12:22- excuse me but I hardly notice in the red states any respect for other people's beliefs, rights or politics. And i don't notice McCain being anything other than a Bush wannabe these days.

As for tolerance- yes, if you are white, Anglo-Saxon, in a certain tax bracket and not Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, Shinto, Wiccan, or gay, you'll have a lovely time in the red states. May I also point out that if anyone can be blamed for the rights of all Americans being infringed upon, it is the Bush administration- some record of tolerance and rights.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:58 PM

and to all a good night!

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 1:07 PM

and to all you morons a good night!

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 1:07 PM

even with 4 day's a week alternative side parking in our neighborhood, I have seen the same garbage lying in the street for several weeks at a time.

street cleaning is a joke.

the only time our street gets clean is when it rains really hard.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 1:45 PM

Someday a real rain is gonna come wipe the scum off the streets.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 1:49 PM

doesn't park slope (like most historical districts - heights/cobble hill etc) already only have 1 day a week per side for street cleaning? it's just going from 30 hrs to 90 min. it just means that people won't have to double park their car for as long during the time they're not allowed to park.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 3:16 PM

Why do people from red states need to read a blog about Brooklyn? Could it be because no one gives a rats ass what happens in your dirt poor hillbilly flyover state?

I also don't think I've ever seen the phrase "right to own a car and park anywhere" in the Constitution, which is still the guide we use as to what is a 'right' in THIS country. But since this is what Park Slope wants so bad I'll just leave my diesel Dodge Ram mega cab idling on their streets so I can keep my block clean and quiet.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 3:29 PM

The anti-car owner talk on here is absolutely ridiculous. I may not use my car every day, but it is an absolute godsend for many things and completely changes my experience of living in this city. It allows me to actually get away from it when I want. Please come off your pedestals.

While I'm concerned as to the absence of the sweepers, I do believe that many blocks in the slope are known for their strong ties as neighbors. I know that my block (Park Place between 6th and 7th) will remain clean because of the will of those who live there.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 3:33 PM

3:29 -- tsk tsk. why so bitter? there's many things we take for granted that aren't spelled out in the Constitution -- like right to privacy, right to reproductive freedom, right to choose who we want to marry etc. So don't try to act all constitutional scholar, because you end up looking like a bone head.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 3:37 PM

as a semi-recent transplant to brooklyn from manhattan, i feel like i have to comment on the issue of car ownership.

i lived in manhattan for ~15 years, never owned a car, and never wanted one. but many areas of brooklyn, including mine, are simply *not* well served by public transportation for anything other than commuting back and forth to manhattan. many parts of brooklyn do not have decent local grocery stores anymore. residents have to go far afield to shop (especially if they want something revolutionary like, say, fresh vegetables), and it's really just not feasible to haul a week's worth of groceries onto a bus, then walk ten blocks home, while everything you bought melts and spoils.

i tried hard not to buy a car - but then i spent 6 months renting a car almost every weekend. so i bought a prius, and i park it on the street (with all the rigamarole that entails), and i pay for the privilege in a hundred different way. it would be great if i didn't need a car - but it just doesn't work. so for those of you who think every part of brooklyn is a no-cars-required paradise - you need to get out more.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 3:39 PM

Brooklyn smells like crap anyway. At least now it''ll be more visible.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 3:42 PM

We here in the South Slope have had 1 cleaning per week for 10 years now and our streets are pretty darn clean.

/don't own a car
//never have
///zipcar, baby

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 7:58 PM

if you think park slope is all there is to brooklyn then you live under a rock

Posted by: guest at May 17, 2008 2:05 AM