Friday, August 28, 2009

The Dangers of Parking on the Street, 2000s edition

Parking on the street in New York can be fraught with dangers. Each decade seems to have its own trends.

  • In the 1970s, your window might have been smashed and the car broken into for a broken umbrella on the back seat, a few coins or a bag of trash on the floor.

  • In the '80s, your battery could be lifted or the lock mechanism on your door drilled through and your car almost driven away except that the thief can't drive stick.

  • The '90s — The whole car disappears and is dismantled at a chop shop destined for parts and cars unknown.

As we approach the end of the the first decade of the 21st Century, the dangers seem to have changed (though with the recession there seems to be more and more glittering puddles of tempered glass at the curb). The new danger seems to be:

EXTREME WEATHER

In the past few months, there have been several severe storms which have downed many trees which in turn have downed many cars parked along Riverside Drive.

This was about a month ago:





(Of course in typical NY fashion, the car remained parked there for about a month!)


This was just a week or so ago:



Now this one was particularly sad because I love this little neighborhood Honda Civic hatchback and was just saying to Saint Jerome earlier that day that it was looking a little more worn than usual. It wasn't badly injured because only a large branch broke off and landed on it and not an entire tree. Anyway, the owner came by, assessed the damage and drove off.

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