Open Thread Wednesday

By on April 27, 2022 8:08 am in open thread

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

Photo: Martha Foley

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  • Henry Streeter

    When is the Grace Church School Carnival? I saw the sign today, but it doesn’t say the date.

  • Jorale-man

    Is riding a motorcycle on the sidewalk the new daredevil trick in Brooklyn Heights? I’ve encountered this more times than I care to remember of late.

  • Sweeties

    Scooter, e-bike, pedal-assist e-bike, which all count as motorcyles in my book, or actual gas-powered motorcycle?

  • Jorale-man

    All of the above, really. No huge hogs with Easy Rider handlebars, but definitely some loud, motor-powered vehicles that belong the streets.

  • Effective Presenter

    That is illegal

  • MaggieO

    seriously. all manner of vehicles that shouldn’t be on sidewalks are on sidewalks these days. Especially terrifying when I’m walking with a 5yo who likes to meander unpredicatably.

  • Mike Suko

    Boy, is this something the BHA should jump on – the incredibly increasing “quality of life” crimes, some probably getting past misdemeanor levels.

    I’ve been ticketed twice that I can remember (long ago) for bicycle infractions. Now that there’s been an enormous escalation of speed, weight, etc. (re the bikes), a half-day of enforcement is long overdue.

    Other readers, of course, may want the NYPD to target other abuses. Turnstile jumping is back in earnest, for example.

    Almost funny hearing Mayor Adams “insist” that his force patrol subways not their cellphones yesterday.

    I get how the NYPD rank-and-file – presumably, the white ones more than the others – are dubious that the Mayor really has their back at this point (since the Floyd protests), but one would think they heard the campaign rhetoric and note the big increase in funding in the proposed budget, so their “why bother?” posture & actions are nothing short of dereliction of duty on a never-seen-before scale.

  • Mike Suko

    Add dog-owners with 20-foot leashes and almost half the people trying to walk and text at the same time, and the wonder is that there are as few accidents as there are.

  • CassieVonMontague

    This weekend there were a few dirt bikes driving through Brooklyn Bridge Park. I think they will be all over this summer.

    Delivery bikers are always on the sidewalks now. Everyone is working from home, so it’s probably not gotten worse, it’s just that there are more of them.

  • CassieVonMontague

    Grace Court has No Parking signs posted for Saturday. So Saturday is my guess.

  • Alex

    Why do you care about turnstile jumping? A subway ride can be a McDonald’s burger for someone who’s struggling financially. Not to mention the MTA is super corrupt anyway. There are other priorities. I, for one, exit through the emergency door whenever I can so other people can get it and alert them not to do it if I see cops.

  • Mike Suko

    How is that not “getting worse?”

    Not splitting hairs, either. Yes, this is a “lifestyle change” – increasingly, it’s not about WFH as much as it is powerful apps, people looking to save time (just as the delivery people are doing) and a little money vis a vis eating out.

    Don’t forget that there are more people on bikes of all kinds than ever … and we’re at the season (as you note) when usage zips upward enormously.

    BBP probably has the “authority” to ban motorized vehicles AND THEY SHOULD. Plus, their “policing” staff has as its focus making the park safe for its various recreational uses. As someone said above, putting our kids at risk (where do you think a LOT of how-to-bike for 6-year-olds takes place?) is worse than bad!

    Oh yes, one last rant – Who was the D.O.T. imbecile who decided that the “lesser of 2 evils” was to run the bike path that goes down Clinton Street over a VERY HEAVILY trafficked sidewalk area outside 10 Clinton Street, a building with mostly senior citizens as residents?!

    Motorized vehicles are just that. Sidewalks, by definition, are for people on foot! As skateboards and scooters are – more and more – “assisted,” why do we have to wait for some “Laura’s Law” … that will, maybe, be a consequence of some tot of a Laura being killed in this fashion?

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Here is an article from today’s NY Post about the selling of the Moonstruck House in Brooklyn Heights.

    https://nypost.com/2022/04/28/brooklyns-moonstruck-townhouse-asking-11m-finds-buyer/

  • CassieVonMontague

    By “getting worse” i meant the propensity for an individual delivery person to ride on the sidewalk. I was making a claim about their behavior. So, while it has not become more or less likely that an individual delivery person will ride on the sidewalk, the increase in delivery people has made the problem worse. I am sorry i was not clearer. I am not as concise and clear a commenter as you are.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Because the lost revenue is paid for by all the honest riders who don’t cheat, DUH.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Yes, they shouldn’t be there but they always will, to some degree. That is why it is important to teach that 5yo not to meander unpredictably.

  • Mike Suko

    Good one.

  • Mike Suko

    Spoken like someone who never had a 5yo of his own. Not an attack, just a statement of fact. Real problems demand real/viable solutions.

  • SongBirdNYC

    Um, you’ve never had kids have you? How about we remind adults not to ride scooters or bikes on the sidewalk?

  • MaggieO

    She won’t be a 5yo meanderer forever but there will be others who replace her. I’m not okay with adjusting to this as a new reality. Powered vehicles should not be on sidewalks. It is dangerous. How about elderly folks who cannot move quickly or balance issues, those with vision limitations, etc.

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    I’m unconvinced that the lost revenue from turnstile jumping is addressed in any meaningful way by fare increases, if we compare the amount lost to turnstile jumping vs. the amount lost to embezzlement and mismanagement. And the problem is that we’d need an indifferent 3rd party survey to get good data on this, but you can probably imagine what the numbers look like if you’re at all conceptually familiar with New York-style white collar crime.

  • Jorale-man

    Yes, I think I saw a brigade of guys on motorized vehicles riding through the park last weekend. But somehow I have better faith in the park rangers in maintaining some order than I do the authorities elsewhere.

    As MaggieO points out, there are a lot of toddlers and senior citizens in the neighborhood who can’t so easily dodge the Mad Maxes barreling down the sidewalks. It’s a worrisome trend.

  • CassieVonMontague

    The Twitter Account @BrooklynConf found an old advert in the Village Voice from 1971

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1ca2066eee838a2eab5dceb347bf56046416e7da56cbf57fdc74f6cf225f1ad8.png

    The townhouse is now part of a condominium complex comprising 300 to 306 Henry St. I wonder if any occult happenings still go on there.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    The numbers show that roughly $300M a year is lost to fare evasion. That loss has to be covered by someone. Evasion may not be the sole cause of a fare increase but it certainly is a contributor, as there is only so long that loss can be absorbed.

    The rest of your argument is a collection of logical fallacies, Straw-man & Begging the question. Show some evidence otherwise your thesis is just delusional, conspiracy theory.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    ^^^ Wrong, If you can teach a child not to dart out into the street you can also teach them not to dart around the sidewalk. Education in manners and a little discipline is all you need.

  • MaggieO

    LOL. Why are you trolling me?

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    “^^^” Means three responses above, or below, depending on your viewing preference settings. So my rebuttal was not only directed at you.
    LOL on the “Troll” comment. Typical of someone who has no viable counterpoint.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    I remember it well, especially the reeking of incense.

  • BH Mike

    You’re attitude and actions are part of the problem.

  • MaggieO

    i’m not familiar with that arrow thingy. So you were responding to Mike or Songbird? I suggested you were trolling because I found it incredibly unlikely that you were actually trying to say that rather than motorized vehicles on sidewalks being the issue here, the issue is actually poorly trained and ill-mannered children.
    motorized vehicles on sidewalks is undeniably dangerous. personally i see that through the lens of walking home from school with a 5 year old who likes to sometimes run, or walk unpredictably, or stop suddenly – because she’s a normal 5 year old. I can also view it through the lens of individuals with poor hearing who are not listening for upcoming motorcycles while on the sidewalk or who are frail and fall easily when brushed past by a motorcycle.

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