So I have a car now...
So I finally retrieved my car from CT and brought it into the hood. I'm now one of those people who has to deal with alernate side parking. Whoopie.
In my mind I had visions of awesome grocery trips and all other sorts of freedoms. In actuality, I'm terrified of driving in the city for the most part (after not driving for 18 months and never driving in NYC) and I'm even more scared of trying to find parking.
Is there a single grocery store in the area that has off-street parking? Does pathmark? (don't think so...) Also- if you have a car, when/how do you use it? If you don't, where do you wish you could go?
this sounds like a stupid question but I'm trying to decide if I want to keep it or sell it and the only "benefit' i've found so far is giving myself ulcers moving it for street cleaning :shock:
In my mind I had visions of awesome grocery trips and all other sorts of freedoms. In actuality, I'm terrified of driving in the city for the most part (after not driving for 18 months and never driving in NYC) and I'm even more scared of trying to find parking.
Is there a single grocery store in the area that has off-street parking? Does pathmark? (don't think so...) Also- if you have a car, when/how do you use it? If you don't, where do you wish you could go?
this sounds like a stupid question but I'm trying to decide if I want to keep it or sell it and the only "benefit' i've found so far is giving myself ulcers moving it for street cleaning :shock:
Comments
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i would go to...
*bear mtn, etc, to go hiking
*fairway for food
*red hook ballfields (in season)
*riis park/marine park, city island, and other non-nyc parts of nyc
*this abandoned building site in staten island -- okay, that's just me
*impulse beach trip to look at water
*LI winery tour?
i'm sure other things, too. -
Pathmark does have parking at the atlantic center location.
Besides going to work, I use my car to
Go to fairway
Pathmark
Tarder Joes in Queens (soon, grand opening was last week!)
visit family in Brooklyn & Queens
visit friends in NJ
beaches, beaches, beaches (in the summer)
random trips into manhattan, dumbo, parkslope, prospect heights
malls at gateway center, roosevelt field, woodbury commons
ikea, home depot, movies -
it may be a little far for you, but there's a big Key Food on 5th Ave at Sterling with a parking lot.
Try driving on a Sunday morning before as many cars are out to build up your confidence. Take a friend for moral support or at least help finding a parking spot. -
Don't worry about the driving, nobody else in NY drives well either. Buy some bubble wrap at staples and wrap it around the car.
We have everything delivered to our house or work including groceries (Fresh Direct), so we've been thinking about getting rid of our car. But then...we had such a great weekend last driving up to poughkeepsie, peeping the leaves and shopping at farmer's markets along the way. We occasionally use it for road trip vacations and visiting family. I suppose we could joint zip car, but having the car available to us all the time is such an enjoyable luxury. -
Thanks for all the suggestions!
So I live on lafayette and it seems like all of the streets around here have street cleaning twice a week, while park slope (where my boy lives) is pretty consistantly once a week. Are there streets in the hood that have it once a week? Moving the car every 3 days kind of sucks... -
park it in park slope! LOL
sorry, couldnt resist. I havent seen any such parking in CH -
Hey I'm actually going to most likely
Not because I don't simply love the stuy, but shit moving it once a week is much much more pleasant. Plus all the blocks around there have similar rules- either thurs of Fri...I was driving around lookin for parking yesterday and its seriously block by block...my brain can't handle remembering what block is what
I wish there was a map that said what blocks had what days, but I can't seem to find one -
Hate to break it to you, but there are no streets on this side of Fulton (actually maybe as far as Eastern Parkway) that have alternate side only one day (twice per week). Everything is two days (four times a week). The logic from the city is that neighborhoods that are clean already need alternate side sweeping less than those that are "dirty". Yet, for all the street cleaning over here, the streets themselves look pretty crappy. If you aren't going to be driving a lot, park near your boy and forget it. Otherwise get used to looking for parking spaces every day.
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^I hear you. More googling is teaching me that the hoods that only have it once a week are actually a recent-ish occurance as a little "experiment" by the city to see if the streets stay as clean.
Guvna- where is the parking lot for pathmark? Is it under the DMV? And I'm assuming its free...? I have to move the car tomorrow and might take this time to hit up groceries... -
I think Super Foodtown in Restoration Plaza has parking. Under the store.
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costco, bj's should be on the list of places to go buy extra bulk stuff.
other than that trips to the beach jesery shore or long island beaches.
or walks in the forest or mountains upstate ny. -
For groceries, as previously mentioned - go to Fairway in Red Hook or Met on 5th Ave in Park Slope. Pathmark parking you have to pay for.
I know there was some sort of communtiy meeting about a year ago on changing the cleaning to once a week each side but don't know whatever happened. It is a pain. I used to live and Park Slope which was nice with regard to the parking BUT it often took me 1 - 2 hrs to find a space! Around here takes usually around 15 mins.
And thats why i gave up the car! -
Carmen wrote:
yeah, it's underneath the mall. Not sure of the exact rates, but I paid something like $2 the last time I went.
Guvna- where is the parking lot for pathmark? Is it under the DMV? And I'm assuming its free...? I have to move the car tomorrow and might take this time to hit up groceries... -
Another driving newb question-
How close to a corner can you park? I know you can't be in the crosswalk, but is that the only rule? Aside from that, can you park as close as you want? In NC (where I'm from) you can't be within 20 feet of a corner or something, but I see people parking right on top of them all the time here...
I have out of state tags so I'm trying to make sure I'm not a target for a ticket! -
Hi...You cant park more than 12 inches from the curb.....less than 15 feet to hydrant...and the corners should have a cross walk which you cant park in . Traffic officer told me if there isnt a crosswalk you have to park by the end of the last building.In line with the last home or building .As for places I drive, to concerts at Westbury and Jones Beach ,Hamptons, Roosevelt Field Mall, Newport Mall, ,Chelsea Gardens mall in NJ,Woodbury Commons, Palisades Mall off NYS Thruway,relatives in Rockland County, farmers markets upstate,Fairway in Redhook, Gateway Mall,Super Costcos in Lawrence,Giants Stadium,any and everywhere(lol).
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Pathmark on 3rd Ave/12th St. has free parking, but I'd much rather go to Fairway.
Ditto what everybody else says - Costco, Target, Riis Park -
I drive our car from one side of the week quite often. I'm getting really good at making 3-point turns.
I debate whether to keep the car all the time but it's great to have for when we need to take one of our animals to the vet or we have to pick up more groceries from Fairway than I can carry on my bike.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned anything about car break-ins. It's happened to us once although we didn't lose anything of value. I see a lot of cars in CH/FG who use "The Club". We don't have one but you might want to look into getting one as a safety precation. -
The parking lot under Pathmark is $2, I think. I occasionally park there if I have to go but the last time I did was a long time ago.
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^^I think if I decide to keep the car in the city (still on a trial run) I'm going to get an alarm installed. Just a cheapie one, as a deterrant. Although I live and am parking on a pretty high-traffic block with lots of street lights, you'd have to have a serious set on you to break into a car with all this traffic at all hours.
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Carmen wrote: ^^I think if I decide to keep the car in the city (still on a trial run) I'm going to get an alarm installed. Just a cheapie one, as a deterrant. Although I live and am parking on a pretty high-traffic block with lots of street lights, you'd have to have a serious set on you to break into a car with all this traffic at all hours.
No matter how much traffic there is if they want to they will break into your car. If you have an air bag I suggest the club with the wheel cover. Seems like air bags are in high demand. Another suggestion is you don't have a removable radio you should get one or at least one with a removable face.
I have to say that I love having my car. I don't use it often but it does help getting things done of weekends. I have a neighbor who moves peoples cars as soon as alternate is over each day. Maybe you have a neighbor you can work something out with? -
Damn Alt Side St Parking!!
If that was the intended effect of Alt Side Street Parking at one time, it no longer works. What a crock! Those sweepers only toss the trash around and redistribute it and smear all sorts of sludge up the street. PU.
Alternate Side of the Street Parking is nothing more than a money making enterprise for the City of NY. Think of all the money they make on all those tickets! Every day alt side is suspended because of snow means hundreds of thousands of $$ not earned.
I had a car when I lived in Astoria, and the only free parking day was Wed. I got at least 2 or 3 tickets a month, maybe more. Finding a spot was hell when I worked late or was out drinking late. And of course there was that time I neglected to clear the snow away so my car was stuck in a big ice cube for a week. Ticketed of course. All so that they can keep our streets "clean."
First off, what's with all the littering?!?! Why can't people care about where they live and stop tossing things on the sidewalk. No available trahs cans is not a good excuse. Put that empty candy bar wrapper in your pocket or your purse until you find a trash can!!
But back to Alternate Side, instead of sending those street sweeping clowns around every morning to toss the street trash around like confetti and issuing parking tickets, those Sanitation workers can start EMPTYING the few remaining overflowing trash cans on the street. That probably causes a lot of the street trash blowing around.
Then, the city should issue every landlord and homeowner a broom. If we all keep the front of our own sidewalks and gutters clean, we can all sleep in. Now that the street trash cans are emptied more frequently, there will be less trash blowing around.
Pardon the rant! This really riles me up, obviously. -
Parking at Atlantic mall is per hour, not $2 flat rate. Alternate parkign is good in that it keeps people from warehousing their cars on the street. if you dn't use it, lose it. It's NYC not the burbs.
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alternate side of the street parking 4 days a week is RIDICULOUS.
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Carmen wrote: ^^I think if I decide to keep the car in the city (still on a trial run) I'm going to get an alarm installed. Just a cheapie one, as a deterrant. Although I live and am parking on a pretty high-traffic block with lots of street lights, you'd have to have a serious set on you to break into a car with all this traffic at all hours.
do your neighbors a favor and don't get an alarm!
seriously, i'd be very surprised to learn they're much of a deterrent, since everyone ignores the noise. and since you won't always park the car at your place, you won't know about it going off every time a truck passes or a kid bumps it or the wind blows a certain way and sets it off keening for home.
i can't believe those things are even legal. -
^I agree- I would get a silent one with a pager so only I know its going off. I'm not going to torture my neighbors like that!
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Speaking of cars....does anyone have any details on the smash up at Myrtle and Clinton this morning?
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LimestoneKid wrote: Speaking of cars....does anyone have any details on the smash up at Myrtle and Clinton this morning?
apparently a drunk driver had a head-on crash with a bus. Thats all I've heard -
Wow this thread is old.
There is a Shop Rite on Avenue I and McDonald that has a parking lot.
There's also a Shop & Stop and a Sears, with a parking lot, on Bedford, near Tilden.
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