Open Thread Wednesday

With health care policies spoken about daily, thoughts of food and health always come to the fore. One of our most delicious little fruits are under the microscope – strawberries! https://www.aol.com/article/lifestyle/2017/03/21/strawberries-pesticides/21904539/

On the closing of Housing Works: I wonder how it is that the fortune teller in the same building can continue to pay the rent but a citywide thrift shop chain can’t. I’m sure the upper floors (where the fortunes are told) don’t fetch nearly the same rent, but it still strikes me as odd – they can’t be doing *that* well in the face of Montague St. real estate prices.

<3

It does!

I pondered this same question in the comments of the article that broke the news (on this blog, anyway). It led me to this article in Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/how-do-psychics-survive-in-new-york-city-311

The takeaway: there’s actually sufficient demand for their services, and they can earn upwards of $10 in a few minutes.

That said, I remain baffled. Once–in the countless times I’ve walked by at all hours of the day, only once–I actually saw someone walk in to patronize that business or walk out from having just done so.

Not that this excuses it, but it certainly doesn’t help that folks cleaning off and shoveling our their cars often throw all their snow into the middle of the road. It’s one thing to do this during the storm when the plows are running through regularly but once the storm is over doing this just creates hazardous driving conditions.

Agree on the cause but that’s what you’re supposed to do with the snow (move to street). And the city’s job is to clear it from the street…if snow keeps ending up there then they need to keep clearing it.

so it’s clear that the DSNY prohibits you from shoveling snow from your sidewalk into the street, but nothing seems to be said about snow from your car. There is a STATE traffic law prohibiting the placement of snow and all kinds of other stuff into the right-of-way though.

Seems like the Bucks County Blog would be a better forum for you.

They know that sort of stuff down here. It’s common sense. Besides, I’m only in Bucks County part of the time since you’re so interested.

Yes, I’d buy the independently wealthy part. They’re still probably paying what, $2000-$4000 a month for even a little space on Montague? That’s a lot of palms to read…

Has anyone met the fortune teller? I always figured it was a front for something.

And homeowners who do clear their sidewalks do not look kindly on people moving the snow from their car anywhere near the sidewalk. I’ve had people come out of their apartments to watch me as I’ve cleared off my car to make sure that I don’t put any of the snow on/near the sidewalk.

I was walking through the neighborhood the other day, and a plow passed by spinning salt on the relatively clear street. Only snow around was what was piled into mounds along the curb.

Well I’m not sure if there’s a law or not on whether to clear the snow from cars into the street or onto the sidewalk (noting the pros/cons above), but it doesn’t seem like a stretch to assume after a big storm, the roads will continue to get snow thrown on them for various reasons. And therefore the Sanitation Dep’t can’t just stop X hours after the storm, but actually needs to continually evaluate the roadway conditions until they’re all clear and look to stay that way. THIS last part is where I think they fell down on the job after this storm. E.g. as of Wednesday evening, there was STILL a 10-foot mound of ice and snow blocking the left-turn lane of Hicks St right before Atlantic Ave. (And that’s not some minor sidestreet but a main artery as the BQE service road…three lanes wide at the intersection and they’re usually full of traffic, which is why one lane blocked is a real hazard.)