Comments on: The $46 Million Parking Perk

By: carculturekills

carculturekills — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:49:56 +0000

Please please please do a similar expose on the cops who use the downtown Brooklyn bike lanes as their own personal parking lot. They are worse than the cab drivers!

By: Steve Adler

Steve Adler — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 03:02:29 +0000

B”H
Q: How can you spot a police station from half a mile in the air?
A: Those are the buildings that are surrounded by triple parked cars.
At Mosholu Pkwy and Webster Ave. in the Bronx — across the street from the 52 precinct — there is a a row of 6-8 private cars parked perpendicular to the curb — in an active bus stop!!! When the bus comes — the Bx41 — it holds up the one remaining lane of traffic in the downtown direction. It has been this way for years. When complaints are filed, they investigate themselves — and do nothing!! It may appear to be a minor thing — but it is such “minor” forms of brazen public theft that erode the conscience of all concerned and make it that much easier for the more marginal characters among them to pull the trigger on those rare occasions when the opportunity arises. I would be glad to send a copy of my study of “dollar vans” in NYC or a report of how I was arrested and jailed for “theft of service” after trying to use my valid weekly transit pass on a turnstile that — as I discovered the following day — was known to be malfunctioning. The Police were staking out a malfunctioning turnstile in order to issue tickets for “theft of service” to people who had no interest in stealing anything. In my case they racked up 11 hours of easy overtime babysitting me in jail — but never made a note that I even claimed to have a valid. weekly pass. During my eight hours in jail, none of the officers would check to see if my pass was valid. I used my pass as soon as I was released with a time-stamped desk appearance ticket — so that I could show that I had it with me at the time I was released. Otherwise, it would have been my word against theirs. The case was dismissed after I subpoenaed the record of use of my pass!! As far as I no, none of the police were reprimanded.
My email is vantran613@yahoo.com
Steve Adler

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 18:53:57 +0000

You must be a different “Glenn” than I am. Perhaps you could be “Placard Glenn”

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 05:37:45 +0000

Just want to let you guys in on a secret. I am employed by an agency in Downtown Brooklyn. I park in legal parking each and everyday and have received only 2 summons in the past 18 months because I couldnt read the signs.
I am not parking illegally but I am taking up a legal spot in front of someones home or place of business.
I am sure they would have wanted this for themself or a customer but I was there. Too bad, i am legal!

As far as law breaking, I hope you ride responsibly, braking for pedestrians and stopping for red lights, you will be next.

By: Jan Lee

Jan Lee — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 21:52:37 +0000

I applaud your site for bringing to light one of the worse offenders of our city’s streets, our sidewalks, and our safety ~ Gov’t workers, and that includes the NYPD. One need only to visit NYPD RANT (A whiner’s website for NYPD) to understand the mentality of the people who feel completely justified in endangering the lives of communities they are entrusted and PAID to protect, and serve. This is not to say all NYPD park illegally, quite the contrary. It is the abusive few who ruin so much for the law abiding officers and the public. All it takes though, is is a couple of defiant idiots parked at a couple of key locations, like no-standing zones, or fire hydrants (those are off-limits 24/7 for a reason!!) during another “attack” or natural disaster and there you have it, a death that could have been avoided. Since the individual law-breaker’s own conscience is lacking the supreme leader of the men in blue has to change the CULTURE and the rank and file will follow.
Until the CULTURE of abuse is changed from the TOP, each individual officer will continue to feel under-paid and unappreciated and therefore take out his frustrations on “us” the public they are supposed to protect. Defiantly parking all day at a fire hydrant, then defending that action as a “perk that I am entitled to” is no defense. It’s still illegal, it’s still enforceable, and if an officer does not want his privacy violated because we’re taking pictures of the offense, do as the Mayor instructs you to do “take public transportation” like the rest of us, or don’t show everyone your’re a COP by displaying a placard!
NY’ers should pressure the Mayor and Commissioner to change the CULTURE of abuse at every level in the NYPD, the Public and the individual officers are suffering from it in one way or another. PLACARD reduction or elimination is the only way we’re going to solve this problem of parking abuse.

By: Roland Gebhardt

Roland Gebhardt — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 19:25:13 +0000

Good work!
Not mentioned in the report but potentially beneficial: Creating and applying parking regulations for government employees would have an additional benefits for the city. Reduced parking on city streets by government employees and forged permits would free up parking space for revenue creating activities s.a. shopping, visits to local services, institutions etc..

Additionally; the Sanitation Department could clean many streets that are used by government employees for parking during posted cleaning times. Jay Street is one example.

By: Jeanie Chin

Jeanie Chin — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:22:49 +0000

You guys are inspiring! Keep up the excellent work. Thanks for your long term vision for our city.

By: Janet

Janet — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:28:27 +0000

Maybe just more obvious–in the Adams St. bike lane, for example.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 00:41:39 +0000

It’s true. Downtown Brooklyn is perhaps even worse than Lower Manhattan when it comes to illegal government parking.

By: Duke of Flatbush

Duke of Flatbush — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 21:46:28 +0000

What about the cops and judges in Brooklyn?

Cops park on sidwalks, blocking traffic (Classon & DeKalb) and forcing people into the street (Bergen & Sixth).

Judges park in Columbus Park and on Cadman Plaza making an otherwise useful civic space look more like a big box parking lot. So much for upholding the public trust.