WHEELS WARLORD?

 

Just before the July 4th weekend, I discovered a nail in one of my rear tire, as shown in the photo.  Can that tail get there somehow by accident?  In other words, did I run over it and somehow it got embedded that way?  I don't think so.  I suspect some Wheels Warlord did it to teach me a lesson not to park in front of their home.  Wheels Warlord is the term I came up for people who believe they own the parking spot in front of their home.  Nobody can park there.  Some put out cones to save the spot, others damage the "offending" car by driving a threaded nail into a tire.

I suspect this type of behavior is common.  People nowadays feel entitled to whatever they wish.  No more community, just me, myself, and I.  I am curious if we map out incidents like this a better picture would emerge.  Which neighborhood the a$$holes live in, so to speak.

I live in Brooklyn and work in New Jersey, not far from the Goethal Bridge, so my daily commute includes two trips through Staten Island.  I love Little Free Libraries and regularly make side trips to visit the many libraries in Staten Island.  I also do long walks as part of my exercise routine.  Sometimes I walk in the morning on the way to work, other times I do so after work.  Likewise with the LFLs.

I can recall the few places I parked at the weeks before the nail incident.  One place that comes to mind is the intersection of Lander Avenue and Hirsch Lane.  I visited a new LFL nearby, took some photos, added some books, and walked into Hirsch Lane to verify that it connects to Kirshon Avenue.  I didn't go all the way through Hirsch Lane.  How long would it take for the nail to be driven into the tire?  I don't know, but I am sure I wasn't away from the car that long.  I don't think it happened on Lander Avenue.  A likely location is Tompkins Avenue between Townsend Avenue and Greenfield Avenue, in front of Rose Group Day Care, as a matter of fact.  Twice, in the morning, I parked there to take a stroll on nearby streets, before resuming my car commute to work.  Another place that is a possibility is on Vanderbilt Avenue, near the corner of Pine Place.  Again it was morning, the car was parked pointing west, as I later traveled to the Richmond Avenue to eventually get onto the S.I. Expressway.  One other S.I. location is also on Vanderbilt Avenue, near Park Hill Court, pointing east, in the evening.

What are the chances others had the same unpleasant experience?  I just want to see a map of the incidents.  Without access to home video footage, I don't know for sure.  But a map can provide more info.

LONG ISLAND MOTORING

Up until recently, I was working as a field technician, with the majority of the time driving to many places in Long Island, or to be exact, Nassau County and Suffolk County.  Occasionally, the job also involves driving up north, as far as Sleepy Hollow.  It was a big change for me, as before that I mostly commuted by subway.  I used to think traffic woes only existed in busy commercial areas like Manhattan or certain parts of Brooklyn or Queens but was I wrong.  I thought parking shouldn't be a problem out in Long Island, but like those huge mall parking lots being full during the holiday season, some lots in Long Island area just not big enough.  It was a painful, but I also learned something useful, and lest my mind forget I better make a note or two here:

• Most office buildings offer a place for the general public to buy food.  In my book, skipping lunch is a sin.  Someone fought hard for that right, I shouldn't squander it away.  I always try to find time for lunch, but in some remote office park in Long Island, the answer may not be so apparent.  Lots of time just asking around is enough.  I enjoy walking around so if the building I work in doesn't offer a food place, the building across the street may.  Of course, if you are a picky eater then this won't help you.
• Along with the food place usually there's a restroom.  It's not just for relieving oneself, but also for washing the face to feel refreshed, like during those hot summer days.
• While parking is not as easy as I thought it is, there usually is some places to park, if you don't mind walking a little bit.  As a long distance runner, a few blocks of walking is almost nothing for me, but I can see how insurmountable the task is for the typical couch potatoes.
• Some local communities work with their town officials to prevent people parking on their blocks.  Everyone on the block have their own garage so it's not because of lack of parking space on the street.  I suppose an outsider once or twice did something bad, maybe a loiterer or whatever, to those communities. So these communities have local regulations that say No Parking from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., to force people to park elsewhere.  It's just one of those things that make me think, "That's why we cannot have nice things."

I HATE DRIVING

Recently I found out belatedly that, back in September, there was a Car-Free Day.  Or something to that extent.  Maybe it was Use-The-Car-As-Little-As-Possible Day.  Might as well that I didn't know about it, because with my current job I wouldn't be able to participate anyway.

In all my years of holding a job, I was lucky to be able to do so with taking public transportation, mostly.  Sure, going to Jersey City tacked on at least an additional 25 minutes, or more when the PATH misbehaves, but still I didn't have to watch out for other drivers or look for parking once I got to work.  Nowadays I spent at least 2.5 hours on the road, that's just getting to work and back.  Some days I may have to visit three different client sites, no fun.  Driving itself is tiresome but parking is not much better.  I used to think that only busy areas like Midtown Manhattan, or maybe the entire Manhattan, and some commercial districts, have severe problems with parking.  But no, you can be out in the boondocks of western Long Island and there is still a shortage of parking space.  Over the few months that I've been a car-commuting worker, I came up with a few workarounds to soften the blow.  Mostly with driving, parking not so much.

• Don't stick to just one route.  Easy said than done in some scenarios, but always worthwhile to explore.  I used to think the Cross Island Parkway is a great alternative to the Van Wyck Expressway, northbound anyway, because I took the CIP occasionally on weekends.  Now that I need it during rush hours, fuhgeddaboutit!  Even as early as 6 A.M. there would be cars heading to the Bronx via the CIP.  It took me many tries but eventually I found a great local route that mostly runs along the CIP and not have to deal with the lousy traffic.  It may not be faster but it sure is headache-free.
• Let technology work for you.  It can be low-tech like the radio and its traffic report, or high-tech like Google Map and Waze.  I get a great kick out of knowing ahead where the traffic jam ends and re-enter the highway just beyond the jam.  It does not always work, but it's a wonderful feeling when it does.
• Along the same note, use technology to find alternate routes.  The new route does not have to replace the old one completely, just to avoid some sucky section is good enough.  I used to hate the part of the Conduit Avenue North around 135th Avenue or 140th Street where the right lane forces a right turn.  One day I decided to see where the right turn would lead me and lo and behold while you'll be a bit off-target from your destination traffic is much better than going through the busy intersection of the Van Wyck and the Belt.  While some days I don't mind going slowly with traffic while my favorite podcast is on, most of the time I just want to quickly be done with the car trip.  Having the optimal route is the way to get that done soonest.
• I don't know how I used to do it with paper maps but turn-by-turn driving direction is a wonderful thing.  Especially when you go to an unfamiliar destination.  Most of the time the street signs are tiny and useless.  By the time you read what it says, with the jerk behind you honking madly, you already missed the turn and have to somehow loop back.  Note that I didn't say make a U-turn.  I absolutely hate it when drivers make a U-turn on a narrow street.
• Remember I said for parking I found no solace?  It's a matter of luck.  Or if you don't mind making crazy U-turns.  One thing I found out is, if you are like me and not mind walking long distances, sometimes there are residential area near your destination that you can park at.  Of course I've come across some towns that have local regulations forbidding street parking, like between 9 AM and 6 PM, but most of the time free parking can be had a few blocks away.  Again, you can use Google Maps or the like to scope out the area before you get there.  Usually an overhead view of the area is enough for me, but maybe you can go full-blown and use Street Maps and such.

I am no Traffic Sam, as I know just a tiny portion of the big NYC metro, but if any of these tips help someone saves a little time or a few drops of gasoline, then I am happy.

NYRR BX 10M, PART 2: THE GRAND CONCOURSE, PARKING FAIL

A big chunk of the 2012 NYRR Bronx 10-Mile took place on the Grand Concourse.  Having lived in Brooklyn for the past 15 years, I think of the Grand Concourse as the Bronx's Ocean Parkway, without the nice tree shades.  I actually lived in the Bronx for a few months in early 1980, in the Kingsbridge part, not too far from where Fordham Road meets the Concourse.  Alexander's department store used to be there, then it got replaced by Caldor's, who knows what's at the corner now.  I, perhaps along with other Vietnamese, think of Grand Concourse as "răng con cọp", or "tiger's teeth", purely because the consonants in the phrase sound similar, i.e. R.C.C.

A few people complained that the Grand Concourse was boring.  I think it is fine.  You need a wide boulevard so people can run in both directions, while the cars still can use the service roads.  NYRR is an NYC-based group so its races have to be urban runs, along city streets, in the canyons overshadowed by tall buildings.

The race started off near Joyce Kilmer Park, up the Grand Concourse then at Moshulu Parkway made a left toward that school complex consisting of Lehman College and Bronx Science High School.  The 2012 race was my second visit to the area and I still don't know where Bronx Science is.  I've heard so much about it, I would like to at least take a photo of its front door.  However, during both visits I was there to run a race and there was no time to stop and take photos.  Actually, with the Bronx Half in 2010 I did not care too much about my finish time and did stop to take photos, but not of Bronx Science.  Anyway, a turn here and there and the runners were back on Moshulu heading east, then turn around at some point to head west then back on Grand Concourse for the long stretch to the finish line.

I recalled that the start was around 161st Street and Moshulu was around 200th Street, so there should be only 40 or so blocks to go, no?  If 20 blocks equal one mile, then there would be just 2 miles to go once we were back on Grand Concourse.  I looked forward to each intersection but they seemed so far apart yet the street numbers went up by only one.  As I learned later on, these Bronx streets don't follow the 20-block rule.  They are much further apart.  Indeed, the return trip on Grand Concourse was 3.5 miles, not 2.

Something nice with the return trip on the Grand Concourse was that I bumped into Mr. James Lu, the 74-year-old runner featured in this video, http://vimeo.com/42746005 .  I saw him before after many other NYRR races but did not know his history or his name.  He certainly was a unique character.  At the Bronx 10M, I greeted him by name as I ran by him.  At the water station we both stopped but afterward I took off before him.  It is nothing to brag about to beat someone 30 years older but it had to be done, as the alternative would be worse.  I'm sure other older runners beat me to the finish line, but I did what I could.

As I walked to the garage, the sight of people queuing up to pay at the ticket machine was discouraging.  I was not too tired from the 10-mile run but standing on line for a long time was not something I wanted to do.  Out of the 3 machines near the entrances I entered through, one was out-of-order.  I walked over to the other entrance, where another 3 machines stood and the line was not too long.  It turned out one of the machines was also broken.  The one on the left supposedly would only take credit card only.  I was on a queue that supposedly could use either cash or credit card.  One runner did not have a credit card so he asked me to switch with him and I did.  Then it turned out he did not have enough small bills to pay the $8 fee.  I could have changed it for him but just to be safe I told him let me finish my transaction first.  It was a good, lucky move, as I discovered shortly afterward the credit card reader was not working and people before me had to pay cash.  Adding injury to insult, the machine did not give change either.  I think one or two people inserted $20 or $10 bills and got nothing in return.  Later on I saw one of the 2 parking staff walking around with wads of bills, maybe they were going to refill the the machine.

When I got to the machine, I had enough small bills to cover my $8 and had some bills left.  A woman behind me only had $5 so I gave her $3 in singles.  She wanted to know how she would pay me back but I told her to give it to charity when she gets around to it.  Pay it forward, that's how I like to do things sometimes.  Random act of kindness, too, I'd like to think that was.  Automation is great to some extent but when it does not work and there are no humans around it's a total pain in the ass.  I never drove to Yankee Stadium so I never park there.  I wonder how bad it would be when there was a game and these dang machines don't work properly.  Hopefully next time, if there will be one, the parking company can do a better job at serving the runners community.