The Brooklyn Car Experience
So my sister who lives in Cobble Hill called me last night. She's babysitting someone's car, and and she was frantic. After half an hour of circling the neighborhood, she had finally found a parking spot not on a Thursday side of the street, but it was near a fire hydrant. So she asked me how close she could get--I say 15 ft on either side--and she replies, "How do I know what's 15 feet?" I tell her that she's a little over five feet tall, so she could imagine three of herself, laying down on the ground, and that would be 15 feet. Being the practical girl that she is, and not wanting to get a ticket or have her friend's car towed, she proceeds to lay down on the ground three times to get the distance right. Meanwhile, this dude is walking by her giving her bizarre looks, so she asks him if he thinks she's too close to the hydrant, and he says, "No, I think you're fine," but I don't think he thought she was fine.
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nothing like wondering if that vague smell of dog urine is from the tree you're walking past or your hair ...
he was a jogger. and definitely did not think i was "fine."
I recall hearing once that if you stretch your arms out to the sides of your body, the distance between the tips of your fingers equals your height.
This might be a better way to measure the distance next time you find yourself in a possible dog urine zone.
another method would be the break-dance "caterpillar" move, inchmorming your way down. This way, you get some nice clean cardboard first and lay it down so you don't get all scratched up by the pavement.
I believe it's 18 feet
It's definitely 15 feet. You can also pace of yards like a football ref. Five big steps. But better yet, what about just getting a bicycle. Enough with the cars already in Brooklyn for chrissake.
I have nothing to offer except I don't envy anyone having to park in this city! (Though I do have car envy ALL THE TIME) Honestly, if it were me, I probably would've just kept on looking for a space due to paranoia about getting the legal-distance-from-the-fire-hydrant part wrong.
I think she would prefer to not have a car.
Well, I feel you. We had the same exact problem in the same area--last night in fact--and I gotta tell you, it might be WORTH it to do the lying down trick, because those bastards will tow you if it suits their purposes. We've only been parking in that area for 3 months and so far we've been towed, ticketed (three times, i think...including once for a one-day-expired inspection sticker), dented, and in one delightful instance, the car was placed on some kind of wheely-coasters and rolled down the street so a construction truck could be backed in. Of course they gave us no warning, so we just thought the car was missing...till we saw it down the block on it's little car rollerskates. "Ay, you'll save on gas!" the construction guy told us. Oh, ok.
(I should add that time time we were towed, they first ticketed us--at 11:15 AM. On a Tuesday. They towed us at 11:32 AM. Which means they gave us a courteous 17 minutes to move the car on a freaking work day. So the $250 towing actually turned into more like $400.)
Ah, good neighbors and fellow Brooklynites. Let me share the secret of always being exactly 15' from a fire hydrant: Measure and cut a piece of rope 15' long. Roll up the rope and keep in your glove box. When in doubt, whip it out.
:)
three squares is the rule of thumb. parking cops don't carry tape measures, and neither do i - unfortunately, i have been towed for parking too close to a hydrant. however, one day i asked a parking cop on my block if I was too close and she said the way they measure is by counting the number of concrete sidewalk squares between you and the hydrant -- if there are three full ones, you should be safe. i parked my car there (tho it looked too close to me), and indeed, I did not get ticketed.
so after a wonderful sunday at robert moses state park (the reward for all this parking business) i return to the neighborhood around 10 pm. drove around for an hour, despair of having to park in a Tues. spot and do it all over again today, when finally -- like magic -- there it is. the spot. a Thurs. space on my block. 5 minutes later, still attempting to manuever the world's largest SUV, a very kind stranger offers to park it. so thanks to sam's (of sam's restaurant on court street) son for saving me from parallel parking hell. everyone -- go eat there.
I got towed today for the second time this month. I've only had my car for 2 months, and have received 4 tickets as well. Its as if "they" are sending a message: "Don't drive in Nyc, take public transportation."