Blocking the hydrant on both sides.
Observed by futurebird on Mon, Jul 28 2008
I frequently see cars parked on 158th Street and River Ave. (near Yankee Stadium) blocking the fire hydrant. Cars park on the sidewalk as well. The police say that this is for “game day” but it’s a safety hazard to block a hydrant, and it kills the trees and ruins the sidewalk when cars park there. (The sidewalk is cracked and falling apart due to this practice.) The people who run the parking garage move and park these cars on the sidewalk as if the sidewalk was an extension of the private garage. I don’t know if they are charging people for these “parking spaces,” but since uniformed garage valets are moving the cars and parking them on the sidewalk and street it’s not too far fetched.
A valet from the parking garage has pulled a car in on the the sidewalk next to a fire hydrant. The door is opening as he gets out of the car. Now the hydrant is blocked on both sides! The silver car on the right is the private car of a cop. The car on the left is just a regular private car. These cars remained in these spots for hours.
I wish that people would respect the sidewalks in my neighborhood. I want to feel safe, and not have the sidewalk and fire hydrant blocked by cars. I spoke in a very calm and friendly manner to the garage owner, but he started yelling at me. He called over a police officer who yelled at me too. The police officer said that the cars were parked on the sidewalk and in front of fire hydrant “To prevent a truck bomb from blowing up the stadium! Do you want that to happen?!” (I said “No.”) I can understand blocking the street for this reason and I’m glad that the police are working to keep people safe. However, I do not understand how parking cars on the sidewalk and next to a fire hydrant makes anyone any safer. Do you? I was careful never to raise my voice and to be respectful to the police officer and to the garage owner. (As always!) Honestly, I didn’t expect such a wild reaction just for taking a few photos.
10 Comments
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Posted on Sun, Aug 03 2008 at 10:36 AM
If there was a fire there they are there to move the cars out of the way. I don't know how parking there kills the trees and cracks the sidewalk. If that was the case then all the driveways would be cracked too and any trees that are near by would also die.
Posted on Mon, Aug 04 2008 at 09:10 AM
Get used to the verbal and physical abuse if you shine a bright light on the unseemly power grab by NYPD and other city employees. Their slogan of Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect is not in play if they are protecting "their own".
Posted on Mon, Aug 04 2008 at 12:09 PM
Why should the NYFD have a harder job just because some people want to park and go to see a baseball game? It puts lives at risk. Parking on sidewalks is disrespectful to our neighborhood. The dead tree is on the other side of the street. I didn't post it because it was private car.
Sidewalks are designed for people, not cars, the weight of cars can cause all kinds of problems with pipes. Not to mention, as you can see, this kind of parking forces people to walk in the street. This makes it hard for those in wheel chairs and for older folks.
Posted on Mon, Aug 04 2008 at 12:40 PM
Futurebird: I happen to agree with you on the part they shouldn't park on the sidewalk, But some of your claims are not true. Such as the trees dying, sidewalk cracking, pipes breaking. That doesn't happen because a car is parked on the sidewalk. It is a safety issue and that's all it is.
Posted on Mon, Aug 04 2008 at 04:09 PM
Dragonman - are you stating that sidewalks in New York are designed for static loads induced by stationary vehicles and dynamic loads induced by moving vehicles? I do not know one way or the other, but if so, the sidewalks are underdesigned and built by a long shot.
futurebird - pure and simple the autos are illegally parked - end of story.
Posted on Mon, Aug 04 2008 at 10:32 PM
Hiyall as usual you have no clue on what you are talking about. Try reading what i said.
Posted on Tue, Aug 05 2008 at 08:49 AM
I have designed concrete sidewalks as a civil engineer. What exactly is your expertise dragonman? To be a little more specific:
There are many reasons that sidewalks can crack - some are:
1) Heavy loads beyond the design specifications of the sidewalk system including soil base (e.g. a truck or car parked on sidewalk designed for human traffic)
2) Voids in soil underneath the slab due to erosion, improper compaction of soil, etc
3) Inadequate expansion joints
well you get idea - most of you anyway
And still the point is that the cars are parked illegally here.
Posted on Tue, Aug 05 2008 at 10:16 AM
I have to agree with futurebird here, there should NEVER be a reason to park and block a hydrant. As for the cars parked on the sidewalk? The garage owner/operator know what they are doing, making more money from the illegal spaces on the sidewalk. I think the cop you talked to didn't realize the situation and the garage people blew it out of prortion by calling in the cops. I don't know what the cop meant when he said that about some truck bomb. Future, call 311 if you didn't already and call the BBB about the parking practices of this garage.
Posted on Tue, Aug 05 2008 at 03:38 PM
Typical NYPD to say it's terrorism. If they actually ever caught bin Laden, then they could get away with that tired excuse.
Do I want a truck bomb to blow up Yankee Stadium? No, I wouldn't want the mayors blowhard buddies to loose all the taxpayers money they've stolen.
Parking at hydrants is illegal, and dangerous. So is sidewalk parking. But of course there are the usual excuses.....
Posted on Tue, Aug 26 2008 at 10:16 AM
I think it would be interesting to see what the DCPI (NYPD press office) had to say about positioning cars on the hydrant to stop the stadium from being blown up.
I would think you might need that hydrant in such a case, but what do I know?
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