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June 29, 2006
Double Parking
Maybe a bit off topic but I have a question for people who park on the street. I just moved here with my car and rarely use it during the day while I'm at work. This morning I found that I had to go somewhere during Street Cleaning and found cars double parked next to mine. I understand that this is normal procedure and I saw that the person who was next to me left a phone number on the dash telling me how to contact them. However, when I did they didn't pick up so I left a voicemail. They didn't show up until 11am when the parking restriction ended and were quite surly.
My question is, how should this be handled? Was it okay to call them or is that one of those things for appearances? If I call the police will they help or laugh at me? I find it funny that this double parking happens when the NYC DOT site says it's illegal and you will be ticketed, but I also know that parking can be tough. Do I really have to put my car in a garage overnight to guarantee it won't get blocked in?
Comments
"Do I really have to put my car in a garage overnight to guarantee it won't get blocked in?"
No--YOU could double park during the alternate side hours.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at June 29, 2006 6:04 PM
FWIW double parking IS illegal. I believe the fine is $115! Nevertheless in many nabes the PD "tolerates" double parking during the street cleaning hours--something that IMO is quite beneficial to car owners--it beats having to stay in your car for 1-1/2--3 hours. The convention in my own neighborhood is to have a note on your dashboard when you double park with your address or phone number AND to make sure youj're available to move your car. It was EXTREMELY rude and thoughtless for the person who blocked your (original poster's)car to not respond.
Unfortunately, if you call rthe police they're likely to ticket ALL the double-parked cars on the block, which will REALLY piss off your neighbors.
The system works quite well except when its spoiled by a**holes like the person who didn't answer his phone.
Posted by: Anon at June 29, 2006 6:07 PM
I respectfully disagree with the previous poster.
A shortage of parking spaces and a benevolent NYPD makes a difficult situation more manageable. The bargain is this: if you leave your car on the good side, you can't move it for three hourse. It sucks, but that's just the way it is. It may not be legal, it may be unfair, but it's the best solution. Next time, don't leave your car there. It's a small price to pay.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 29, 2006 6:57 PM
6:57- Are you contending that someone who parks legally should suffer the inconvenience of an idiot who blocks them in by double parking and then walking away from the car? I hope not because that's ridiculous. The bargain is actually quite a bit simpler than you state- If you are going to double park, either stay in the car or make yourself available to move the car. If you can't afford the three hours a couple times a week, you probably CAN afford to pay for a garage. If I were forced to wait three hours by someone who chose to block me in I would be inclined to attach a note to a good sized brick and respectfully deliver my complaint through the windshield of the double parked vehicle.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 29, 2006 9:20 PM
I agree with anon.9:20 (and, in the interest of full disclosure, I was anon.6:07). In Our neighborhood newsletter, which I edit, I usually insert a "parking aide" as a reminder to newcomers of our local practice:
Posted by: Bob Marvin at June 29, 2006 10:06 PM
Yes, I am contending that.
That's the way it works in my neighborhood. Every neighborhood is different.
No one in my neighborhood stays in the car for 3 hours. Maybe they do in yours.
No one leaves a note either. If you don't want your car blocked in, simple: move it before 8am.
By the way, breaking someone's windshield with a brick is a criminal offense.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 29, 2006 10:07 PM
not if nobody is there to see it.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 29, 2006 11:38 PM
Yes it is. A crime does not require a witness to be classified as a crime. Ever watch CSI?
Posted by: Anonymous at June 30, 2006 8:10 AM
A few times, in the UES, I've been blocked in. Each time there has been a phone number on the windshield to call. I've called and they've moved there car in every case.
I think the system works pretty well except when you get a character like the one you got.
Then again, I have a driveway in bed-stuy and I don't have to put up with being blocked several times a week. Perhaps if I had to put up with this all the time, I'd feel different about it.
Also... did you think about driving on the sidewalk to the next driveway or corner? A couple of years ago someone blocked my driveway in the middle of the night and an emergency call came in. I had to pull out onto my driveway and then turn and drive down the sidewalk to an empty parking spot to pull out onto the street.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 30, 2006 9:23 AM
Anonymous 10:07 PM are you crazy?
"If you don't want your car blocked in, simple: move it before 8am." why the hell should someone who IS LEGALLY parked move their car to avoid all the jackasses who can't get their shit together and PARK ILEGALLY? How hard is it to leave a note?
The 2 times this has happened to me the ticketing lady was walking by and i didnt even have to make much of a stink to have that car tcketed. kinda crappy karma i know this person who didnt leave a number made me late for an appointment...so too bad.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 30, 2006 11:22 AM
I double park in Carroll Gardens once a week for street cleaning and always leave my # and also address so people can ring the bell. I also know that if I'm on the legal side of the street, and need to move my car during those 3 hours, I should double park myself and not count on someone else leaving a number.
Occasionally, someone will call and ask me to move the car. No problem, although I was a bit annoyed when one person could not wait 5 minutes for me to get there. My feeling is that if you are on a legal side and are blocked in, you should expect to wait 10 minutes to move and not for someone to be there in one minute.
More annoying are people who forget to move their car back and prevent others from moving back to the other side because cars need to get through. I've been guilty of forgetting myself (totally unintentionally) and my nice neighbors always ring my bell to remind me. (They also remind me if I've forgotten to double park on street cleaning days.) You WILL get a ticket immediately if you don't move the car back as soon as the street cleaning hours are over, at least in my neighborhood.
The system really does work, especially when the neighbors look out for one another. To original poster -- you might have asked the neighbors whose car it was -- sometimes they know.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 30, 2006 12:53 PM
I live where we double park and leave our cars. I can't afford a garage. I lived where we didn't have that option and I am grateful the police look the other way. Having said, I always leave my phone number, both cell and home. Sometimes my cell doesn't ring through when I am in my apartment. I have missed a blocked car call cause of that. Because I sometimes work nights and have gotten home at 6am. I get up at 8am, go back to bed and then get up again to move it back. I missed a call because I didn't wake up. Once when I was at the park with my dog, I got a call to move. I immedaitly walked back taking about five minutes. But this person called me repeatedly to yell at me that I wasn't fast enough and yelled at me when I got there.
It is a good system, you just have to plan. Don't let a bad apple ruin it for the rest of us. And those of you that want to immediatly ticket, the person who yelled at me always parks on my block. They have out of state plates(not a neighboring state), but it seems that the live here. That's insurance fraud. It was tempting to try to bust them after they screamed at me, but why waste my time on some morons. What goes around comes around.
Posted by: anon at July 2, 2006 4:55 PM
the plain fact is that if you are blocking a car you should be available to move your car immediately. We live in a city that has rules and double parking is not one of them..
Posted by: Anonymous at July 7, 2006 2:52 AM
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