Comments on: A Crash Course on Driver Safety for Parks Dept. Employees

By: polarized sunglasses

polarized sunglasses — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:42:14 +0000

It would be nice if people, not only “parkies” learn to be considerate of others and really drive cautiously. I always believe in the saying that “driving is a responsibility, not a privilege” – if you are given the permit to drive an automobile, you should also know how the responsibilities and considerations imparted with it. Take care of your car and yourself as well – wear extreme glare sunglasses to help block the UV rays from the sun and never ever drive drunk.

By: blanche

blanche — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:55:42 +0000

ha ha. i’m the one who took that picture. it was in the beautiful gardens way up in the north east end of central park. near 5th ave and 100th street i think. i lived up in harlem at the time and this was a nice walk to take with my dogs. the city parks people were all very nice and polite that day. people were all looking at the newlyweds and it seemed like all had a warm fuzzy optimistic feeling.

i’ve since moved to the catskills where i rarely see any city or state employees. it’s pretty refreshing out here in the sticks! I recommend it to everyone!

By: steve

steve — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 03:17:22 +0000

Galvo, I’m pretty sure those are state, not city parks on those green piers south of 57th. Agree with you that Battery Park staff have a totally different attitude toward bikes–not sure why things are different in midtown.

By: galvo

galvo — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:20:00 +0000

thanks steve, aren’t those areas nyc parks or hudson river parks? the only area i know where there is state parkland on the greenway is robert wagner park at the battery , which is bicycle friendly and riverbank state park which does not allow bicycles on its proerty, i dont think you can even walk a bicycle to the entrance,only cars and buses allowed.

By: steve

steve — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:06:10 +0000

Galvo, they are generally stationed at the newly-built recreational piers that lie south of 57th Street. They like to ride the golf carts among the piers, via the Greenway. Look for the all-green piers on this map:

http://www.hudsonriverpark.org/pdfs/map/HRPTmapfull.pdf

By: galvo

galvo — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:30:41 +0000

what is the location of these state park golf cart jockeys?

By: steve

steve — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:13:15 +0000

Aaron, those are state employees. another big problem with the golf cart jockeys, after staring down bicyclists on the bike path, is angrily ordering them out of the areas they consider to be the state park, whether or not there are signs indicating where state park begins/ends, or whether bicycles are allowed or prohibited in what they perceive as the state park.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:41:32 +0000

Aaron, I would direct the complaint to the Hudson River Park Trust and Friends of Hudson River Park. It happens to often.

By: Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:57:24 +0000

Maybe not everyone got the memo.

Riding down the Hudson River Greenway yesterday afternoon some sort of park employee (I don’t think city workers maintain that park, right?) pulled out into the bike lane at high speed in one of those golf cart-like vehicles and came about an inch from smashing into a cyclist riding about five yards in front of me.

Most disconcerting about the whole thing was that the golf cart driver appeared to be looking right at me and the other cyclist as she pulled out into the bike path. Neither she nor her two passengers said a thing during or after the near-miss. They all just kind of stared us down as if the kid on the bike in front of me was at fault. It almost seemed malicious.

By: offgrid

offgrid — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 05:15:16 +0000

Multiple double-parked Parks Department vehicles,
especially S.U.V.s, were a menace for years at the
intersection occupied by the Parks facility closest
to where I live in the Village. Those parking
offenses now are mostly history. The result–greater
safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers–is
noticable. While I’m still no fan of Parks (among a
multitude of reasons, think first pathological fence
obsession), I must salute that department for the
improvement.

By: theboy

theboy — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:01:50 +0000

Forget this hands free exception. The research shows that it is not the hands but the head that is impaired.

By: fdr

fdr — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:39:54 +0000

The shaggy haired guy – could it be Mike Primeggia?

By: Spud Spudly

Spud Spudly — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:31:06 +0000

Fari enough Aaron. It looks more like a photo op anyway — like a woman in short sleeves taking a picture of a bride and a shaggy-haired guy in a bad suit.

By: Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:24:27 +0000

I should probably clarify: The photo is from 2005, was found on Flickr and the caption is meant to be funny.

There may not even be a driver in that truck. If there is a driver in the truck, I doubt that he is trying to drive through a wedding party.

By: Spud Spudly

Spud Spudly — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:12:26 +0000

The picture and caption are probably misleading.

A Parks guy driving a Parks vehicle while at work in a park — so what? Is there any reason to believe he was violating one of Benepe’s directives? Do you want him to pick up the trash and carry it on his back (or his tools, or whatever else he might have been transporting)?

By: Rusticumjudicium

Rusticumjudicium — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:09:31 +0000

Picture is priceless.