first "chair saving a parking space" sighted...

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Came out of my house this morning to see this (really *ugly*) aqua blue office chair in the street. First I thought some chair-like alien had landed and needed assistance but then it dawned on me that someone had put that out to save their parking space. Never saw that on this street (Hawthorne) before (wait - one house up the other end does this). Always seemed more of a Southie/North End type of thing to do.

It always seems kind of bizarre to me (and I was tempted to move the chair to some snow mound but I was in a rush) but with this recent light fluffy snow, it seems like a stretch for anyone to make a land grab based on sweat equity.

Oh well. Some people shovel, some people don't. Some people put ugly furniture in the street, some people don't.

Comments

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Whenever I see one of those "claimed" spaces, I pick up the artifact and move it into another nearby space. I once moved three chairs in a row all down one space.

The annoying thing is that there are plenty of spaces, now that the snow emergency has been lifted. Or at least, there would be plenty of spaces if a few bozos didn't think that an hour of work "entitled" them to an individual private reserved parking space 24/7 from now until April.

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

Pure genius, moving the three chairs down one space.

[veda815.livejournal.com]

I would be worried that by moving someone's chair and then leaving you're setting an innocent person up for a fight. After you leave the scene some unsuspecting person pulls up and takes the spot thinking that it is free and clear. Then the chair owner comes home and assumes the car in "his spot" is the person who moved his chair and he seeks out retaliation on the car and/or its owner.

It does annoy me that people claim spots on public streets, but as long as I have a spot for my car I try and mind my own business.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

Maybe they're making it based on the incoming storm?

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

*shrug* I marked my space with a garbage can when I went out last night. I knew there was a chance someone would move it, but I decided to risk it.

Parking on my street is extremely limited even when there *aren't* huge piles of snow everywhere, and I have two heavy kids, which makes a two-block walk on icy sidewalks an ordeal. Of course, when there's no other choice, I manage. But when there's even a chance that I can potentially make it easier on myself, then yeah, I'll take it.

Flame away!

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

And at what point will you remove your garbage can from "your" space?

The snow emergency has been lifted. Is your garbage can gone from the public street now, or will you continue to claim that space until all the snow melts?

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

There's one in front of our house now. I know it wasn't put there by anyone who lives here. Oh well.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Yeah, last winter somebody "claimed" the space in front of my house, after my tenants cleared it out and left it available for the general public. I was not impressed.

[concrete.livejournal.com]

Who do I have to call at the city to get furniture left on the streets removed?

[ron_newman]

311 or fill out this form: DPW - Abandoned Property on City Street or Sidewalk. I used this last month to report a bicycle that had been chained to a parking meter for weeks, and was missing its seat and other parts. The city removed it about a week later.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

i've often been temped to get a friend with a pickup truck and start a chair- collecting run, on the theory of "oh, it's random furniture in the street, clearly they're discarding it".

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

Last year I saw the DPW truck making rounds and taking chairs, etc... People started using old TVs and Air conditioners, and other things you need to pay the city to take. I thought that was pretty brilliant.

[veda815.livejournal.com]

Haha, that is awesome!

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! Devious and brilliant!

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

huh. well I didn't intend to open a can of whoopass by mentioning the alien chair sighting - just haven't seen that practice much around here.

Interesting to hear the justifications (afaik there are no families with young children anywhere on the end of my street where this occurred). The other day I was justifying leaving snow removal to my landlord since she doubled my rent a couple of years ago (admittedly petty as that may seem).

The interesting aspect of the "claiming public space" thing is the real or imagined threat if you take the space: tires cut? Car keyed? Do the people who put out chairs also shovel their sidewalks?

Looks like some nice snow coming down out there this morning....

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Even though I now have a driveway, I can't be that quick to condemn those who continue this practice. If everyone on your street does it, then you had better follow suit or you won't have a space (perhaps until April). This is especially true if the neighbors on the even side used the empty snow emergency side parking spots to dump all their snow.

Parking is tight enough in parts of this city without losing about 1/3 of the slots after big snowstorms. I wouldn't move someone else's snow marker (unless it were obviously an abandoned slot) because whoever comes along and ends up parking there could end up feeling the revenge of the "spot owner". It's an assholish response, but those people exist everywhere.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I agree.

In my experience, I find that those who most objective are those who don't have cars to begin with.

[spot.livejournal.com]

This practice is huge in Chicago, to the point of absurdity. Every possible space is blocked off with chairs, sofas, tables, etc.

Moving them is an offense punishable with violence.

I never really understood it, but I had no real urge to be looking down the barrel of some drunk's gun, so I just ignored it.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

weird- I don't remember snow or shoveling at all when I lived (with car) in Chicago. Probably my P-Chicago-SD. I do remember 22 days one winter without a glimpse of the sun. Was ready to jump off the Sears tower.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

I think this practice is as old as the city itself.

When I lived in JP in 93/94, that winter was brutal. And people who parked in "reserved sports" by moving the chari/cone/rubbish bin that was guarding it got their tires slashed and their cars keyed without fail.

I was sans car that winter and rather grateful for it since my street was a fairly steep hill and at the end of it, there was a T stop anyway.

Now, I have a spot in the driveway that came with the house/apartment - thankfully.

Oh...and driving down Highland Ave Friday, I saw a battered stool, some rubbish bins, a recycling bin and chairs being used to mark spots in Somerville.

[mraudet.livejournal.com]

you are seriously putting your car's well being at risk by taking a spot someone else shoveled.

people complaining about this might as well complain about the sun rising in the east.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

I prefer to complain that it doesn't set to the north. I mean, really. What's up with that?

I'm calling the mayor.

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

Im lucky enough to have a big driveway. However I totally understand people who claim their spots. They shovel a lot of snow, work really hard and what if they go to the store come back and now someone stole the spot. It sucks. I have no problem with people claiming them.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Pardon me, but weren't you the one who said in a recent post on the subjct that you don't shovel your sidewalk because you don't like your rent? Kindly don't tell me how much sweat equity it took to shovel.

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

Some good Samaritan neighbor shoveled out my family's car after Thursday's storm, writing "pass it on" in the snow on the rear window. That made me and my wife feel terrific. So I shoveled out the car of the person parked in front of my house yesterday. Then when they drove off, they saved the spot with a trash can. That left me feeling funny.

[phoenixy.livejournal.com]

Some lovely people left a note on my car this morning that I should "feel ashamed" for having parked in "their" spot that they shoveled out. I wish they *had* left a chair in the spot if they were planning on being nasty about other people's parking there.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Don't even get me started.

I move everything I see onto the sidewalk.