Holiday Open Thread

By on December 26, 2008 9:13 am in Brooklyn Heights
Flickr photo by brianwferry

Flickr photo by brianwferry

An all-purpose Open Thread to discuss anything you want this week. Comment away!

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  • Monty

    What’s up with the nice brownstones with beautiful holiday decorations that haven’t cleaned the ice off of their sidewalks? It was hard a rock and slippery this morning. There are kids and old folks who don’t stand a chance walking on their own streets. Will 311 do anything? What about a angry note?

  • Emily

    I have definitely been having trouble navigating the sidewalks this week. I’m 23 and terrified to fall on my rear while out and about. I can’t imagine being an elderly person trying to navigate. Whose responsibility is the sidewalk?

  • cv

    I agree. Walking my small child to P.S. 8 is treacherous and scary. There are big patches of ice on both Middagh and on Hicks, for instance — right near the school … As well as right near Cadman Plaza Park. No way to avoid them, as both sides of the streets have them.

  • E G

    I am torn. Part of me wants to say harden the F up… I have little time so let me go with that for now. Oh my, you must risk life and limb walking over a few patches of ice! The old and weak will most surely perish! and What about THE CHILDREN!?!? Such adversity we face here in the heights!

  • stan

    eg, you are a troll. go back into your tree.

  • brooklynite

    if you are not going to clean your sidewalk of ice the least you could do is throw some salt down so it doesn’t turn into an ice patch. Try walking down Aitken Place on the sidewalk that is shared by the church. Seems like the doctors office was able to clean up the front of their property so that patients could enter, but didn’t feel the need to remove the snow from the side.

    i wonder how many people get sued every year by people who have fallen on their property b/c they haven’t shoveled?

  • Heights

    EG, It’s the law that the sidewalks be cleared within a few hours of a snow storm. It is always the same residences and businesses that don’t shovel. If you own a home, it is your duty to shovel the sidewalk. Do you have elderly parents? Why no consideration for others?

  • Jazz

    Amazing how a holiday open thread degenerates into negativity. Happy Birthday Jesus!

  • bornhere

    I don’t think complaining about ice-covered sidewalks is degenerate negativity :) So … as much as I LOVE Our Lady of Lebanon (nice creche; new “billboard,” not so much), I would love them way more if they’d de-ice. Especially when there is so much ice on the street, thus preventing that as a pedestrian alternative, there’s no excuse for such a huge “sidewalk owner” not addressing the problem; there was some poor soul finally trying to cut through the ice with a hoe-like device YESTERDAY, well after the situation could have been more easily resolved. On the other hand, props to whomever cleans the west side of Henry (Remsen to Montague)– that was resolved on Saturday. Aside from the legal issues (which would only become more complicated if someone were to fall and get hurt), it seems that shoveling should be the seasonal equivalent of picking up after one’s dog.

  • cv

    My elderly aunt, trying to walk along an icy street that hadn’t been cleared, on a windy day, fell and broke her arm and hip. She landed in the hospital, and never fully recovered. How cruel one must be to mock the need of citizens to feel safe, and to applaud those who knowingly break a law that is humane and that takes into account the needs of all — the infirm, the elderly, the very young, etc.

  • Just a Neighbor

    Hi Everyone:

    First off, Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and all that good stuff. And a Happy and Healthy New Year.

    I agree with the sidewalks and would greatly appreciate it if everyone who’s responsible could please take a minute to do the right thing and at least salt their area.

    I read the saddest article in todays’ Daily News and hate, hate, hate that this is going on right in our own borough. Does anyone know where we could donate or any way that we could help?? Here’s the link:

    http://tinyurl.com/9g6w8p

    On a happy note, alternate side of the street suspended today. Yay! Although, I’m the idiot that got up early to move my car. How did everyone else find out about that? I didn’t see anything online, even on 1010 WINS..is there a web site that we can find out about these things readily? Or I can just go crawl back under my rock :)

    Be safe, everyone!

  • Annie

    Even if the sidewalks have been completely cleared of snow and ice, the street corners remain treacherous with ice build-up. Yesterday, a woman asked me for help across Love Lane, and I gladly assisted her.

    Two suggestions: 1) if you live on a corner, make sure a path is cleared into the street; 2) be on the lookout for anyone who may need assistance, and offer your arm.

  • GHB

    The house at the corner of Clark and Willow never cleans up after a storm. Right now their sidewalk is solid ice. E G, I hope you fall on it and break your ass! So far, the city has made no attempt to clear the Promenade or the sidewalk and walkways leading to it. Maybe the city should fine itself…

  • Hawk

    311 has a recorded message every morning as it relates to alternate side parking or you can google “alternate side parking new york” and print out the calendar

  • mc

    EG, you are an insensitive creep! My 84-year old mother-in-law, who lives in the neighborhood has been unable to leave her apartment without help since Friday, for fear of falling. She’s lucky, because she has younger, and more able-bodied family members who can buy groceries for her, and hold her arm when she ventures out.

    Falling on the ice is neither a joke nor an unfounded fear for the elderly. Perhaps when you’re her age, you’ll remember how cavalier you were at whatever tender age you may be now. And whatever that age is, you’re old enough to know better!

  • Monty

    @GHB, that is exactly the spot that got me started. I have to imagine that every apartment building has a super to do this (mine does and the snow was gone before it hit the ground) and every house is probably owned by someone who can afford to pay a high school kid to do it. There is no excuse. That being said, tomorrow’s high is 50 so it will all melt pretty soon.

  • parking diva

    Alternate side suspended tomorrow, too.

    And you can check here the night before to see when parking regulations change:

    http://tinyurl.com/a92b6q

  • No One Of Consequence

    Try calling 311 about the offending property owners.
    If you really want to do something about it, take a verifiable photo and walk it into the 84th.

  • alex

    Warning: stay off the promenade. It’s solid ice.

  • alex

    Warning: stay off the promenade. It’s solid ice.

  • E G

    For the record (since this is a community forum and I am a community member) I agree with all the issues/complaints about the neglect of home/business owners not tending to the ice and thus putting people at risk of harm.

    You may relax now, an evil, callous, insensitive and creepy troll has not infiltrated this forum! I was after all only joking!

    No apologies necessary… I forgive you all! ;)

  • cv

    EG, jokes are deemed successful when others find them as humorous as the jokester him/herself had found them. Dark/black humor works when it is informed by a searing wit and keen intelligence. Your “joke” had neither.

  • AEB

    In the spirit of the holiday–any holiday–let’s cut E G some slack, OK?

    And speaking of a thoughtful deity–and ice–perhaps we can enlist the former to deal with the latter that’s very much in place outside of Middagh Street side of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

    Definitely a walk on the wild side this AM.

  • cv

    Holiday or not, having watched my Aunt suffer and die after falling on uncleared ice in NYC on a windy day, I do not feel inclined to cut EG any slack. Your choice may be otherwise, AEB.

  • Topham Beauclerk

    I think we’d all agree that half the charm of our neighborhood is in its street names, Pierrepont and Pineapple being my particular favorites. But I’ve always thought that the court bit of Grace Court was a mistake: pompous and false. What do my neighbors think of Gracechurch Street? First, it’s true; second, like Love Lane, it’s the name of a street in the City of London; and for the literary minded among you, it’s the name of the street where live the admirable aunt and uncle of Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of Pride and Prejudice.

  • E G

    cv, had your Aunt or whomever walked by my house there would be no such hazard or tragic outcome because I myself shovel and remove the ice in front of my home. I’d venture to guess that few if any who’ve commented here can claim this.

    You may not like my words or my idea of a joke (admittedly not my best) however, my consistent and responsible actions with respect to this particular community concern – most certainly yours are beyond reproach.

    Thanks for the slack AEB, clearly I require some!

  • AEB

    (Due to inability to post, out-of-order comment:)

    cv, I’m sorry about your aunt, truly.

    I also feel that E G, whom I know only from his/her posts here, is without malice. Call it male intuition.

    And now, why don’t we move on?

  • http://www.myspace.com/billyreno Billy Reno

    Anyone know the running time of the 5pm Xmas Pageant at Boromed? Fandango’s worthless.

  • nabeguy

    I consider myself one of the more diligent homeowners, out there with a shovel and salt the second the last flake has fallen. So what happened when I left this morning to get coffee? Went sprawling all over the place on black ice and injured my shoulder. No real point here, other than that Mother Nature can be awfully cruel, even when you think you’re on good terms with her. BTW, Assumption happened to have been one of the first sidewalks cleared after the snowstorm on Friday. Unfortunately, their maintainence person wasn’t around over the weekend for the thaw-and-freeze. Be careful out there folks and have a healthy holiday.

  • bklyn20

    Salt is not the answer. MANY people throw down salt, the salt melts the snow and ice, and then re-freezes during the colder night to form the near-invisible “black ice.” Also, regular salt is painful to many dogs’ paws AND stains the steps of brownstones. I believe it also degrades the surface over time.

    The best remedy is to shovel several times during the storm, since lifting several light snow-loads is better for your back than one heavy shovel of snow. If necessary, use the pet- and stone-friendly salt lightly after shoveling (it’s sold at Perfect Paws on Hicks St and Pets Emporium on Montague.)

    If you know you’ll be away for the holidays or can’t shovel yourself, try to get a neighborhood teen or super to do it for you with a cash advance, and then call a neighbor to confirm the work was done. (I wish ice tickets were given out the way improper recycling tickets were given out a few years ago!) Last, complain to businesses that don’t shovel — Ann Taylor Loft, do you hear me?

    Ok, lecture over, Happy Holidays and happy de-icing to all.

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