The Globe did another article today on the space saving debaucle that's been going on in Southie since the horseless carriage emerged. Yesterday Mayor Menino ordered the Boston DPW to remove over 220 cones, chairs, and broken toilets that the colorful residents use to mark their territory. No one can ever accuse Hizzonah of not going out on a limb to befriend the natives.
Since the main Boston arteries must be free of all cars in the event of a snow emergency, the only people who are really affected by this are residents who live on side streets. If you spend over an hour shoveling out your spot (plus the sidewalk in front of your house, plus a fire hydrant, plus your elderly neighbor's walk because the majority of people who live in Southie are old school and courteous like that) then you are entitled to it, at least until the snow melts. Personally I'd be bullshit if I broke my back shoveling out my car just to find that spot taken by some jerk who couldn't find adequate parking on Dot Ave.
Leaving a cone out to remind everyone that if they take your spot you'll slash their tires may be archaic and mob like, but let's cut these folks in Southie a break. A lot of them own houses in these neighborhoods, pay taxes, and get very little in return from the city of Boston. In the grand scheme of things, a parking spot in front of their own home is not a lot to grant them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Couple things:
-Dot Ave is about 5 miles long and only about 3/4 of it is actually in Southie. It's main drag is really from Dot - Lower Mills. East and West Broadway are the main arteries in Southie.
-The vast majority of long-time Southie residents do NOT own their homes. They rent. They have for decades. Most of them cannot afford to buy the home they've rented all these years.
The people who own homes in Southie are new residents who make higher salraies. They are also the ones who have an issue with the parking situation. They generally don't come from urban areas where there was a cherished sense of community. When you grow up with a driveway in the suburb you don't really care to relate to residents from a neighborhood that for years has stood together in solidarity regarding unspoken parking rites. You're paying top dollar for a newly gutted condo and when you get home from work at 5:30 you want to park your car and hit the gym. You're not really concerned about old Mrs. Fitzy O'Shea's recent hip replacement and how she has needed that spot for years. She rents anyway. She can go screw.
That is the big reason for old-time Southie's major dislike of yuppification.
That and the fact that thier parent's church pennies paid for the stained glass windows in the churches that have since been transformed into condos, bought by yuppies, who are now making noise about the decades of the socially acceptable lawn chair parking spot.
The new residents are the ones paying sky-high property taxes and demanding that the old guard release their parking spots.
Both parties make a strong point but the dollar wins in this argument..for now.
I find Queen Dee's comments unfair, and she perpetuates the old guard vs yuppie battle that seems more prevalent in the blog world than in the real world.
Not to mention that yuppies paying top dollars probably aren't getting home at 5:30. They probably work 10-12 hour days in their professional jobs that allow them to pay for their gentrified condos.
And if they (we) are paying sky high property taxes (I don't feel like mine are awful..), they they (we) are paying for the streets to be plowed, and for the many other city services that our "sky-high" taxes fund. If renters want to pay the property taxes of their dwellings for the right to save an eight-foot piece of blacktop for a few days in the winter, be my guest.
Regardless, change is difficult, even if it's for the better of the city and the community. Progress tends to win out, as it has in Southie.
I get the space saving after big storms. However, this most recent one left no reason for the cones to come out, other than the fact that others were doing it. More people simply drove over the snow than actually shoveled it.
What I got from this post / comments:
It’s ok to break the law, and even take the law into your own hands, as long as you’re a townie or long term resident of southie.
If you’re old or disabled, or both, you have a god given right to any space you deem yours.
You know what, that’s unacceptable. It’s also illegal, you know, breaks laws we are supposed to obey.
Why should residents be scared of hooligans running around slashing tires and destroying property over something as benign as parking spaces? What happens to the person who becomes a casualty because of someone moving a space saver earlier? Nice community there, don’t follow our unlawful, spoken rules, and we’ll ruin your car. Also, where does it end, and why is this any different if it starts happening in the summer? It will, as cars increase and southie’s population becomes denser.
If, as you say, they own houses and pay taxes, and don’t like the situation after storms, it’s up to them to get off their asses, organize, and push the city to fix its horribly inadequate snow removal policy. Other cities have even/odd parking a few days in a row, so that plows can plow both sides of a street. They also work to remove snow, instead of just piling it up. Being a lazy asshole, and destroying property when they don’t follow you arbitrary “rules” isn’t right, and no one has a claim to be in the right doing so.
Also, if a resident is past a certain age, or has a medical problem, they can apply for a handicap spot directly outside their house. There’s several in my southie neighborhood. If someone is too stubborn or egotistical to see the need for one, and get it, tough.
Either pressure the city to change and better it’s snow removal policy, or don’t be surprised when your space heater is in the trash.
Oh well. My comment wasn't condoning tire slashing nor was it encouraging people to go crying to city hall when having a real live face-to-face conversation with their neighbor would fix it.
Putting "pressure on the city" has been done for years. Don't think the towing situation happened over night and don't think elected officials have all the answers. If you want to see change in your community you need to talk to your neighbors.
I don't see how my comment was unfair - I wasn't endorsing either side I was making my own personal observation.
Only in the past 2 years have tickets and towing been strictly enforced. There's no more real battle being waged, what the Globe writes about is only the remaining isolated instances because papers love writing about Southie.
If you were around even 5 years ago you would remember a much different Southie with furniture piled sky-high in every single spot. That is no longer even close to the scene.
Queen dee said: "because papers love writing about Southie".
That's exactly right, they always have and always will.
It seems you've stirred things up a bit here pahkcah. :))
I walk dogs in southie, even a day after a snow storm. I try my best to find parking but it never happens and I am smart enough not to move anyones cones. I will just find a spot on Broadway and walk for the day instead of driving to everyone's house. It will take me longer but oh well no sense in pissing off all the locals.
While we are on the subject of sidewalks, why doesn't anyone in southie clean up after their animal. There is dog shit on every square of every sidewalk on every side street. I come prepared with baggies, so I know I have an advantage, but if you love Southie so much, please pick up after your dog. I mean all you need is a stop and shop bag, and almost everyone leaves a trash can out, it would be so easy to do . Why? Oh well, if you see dog shit all around southie, and believe me you will, just know that it is not any of my dogs, because I pick all that shit up. No pun intended.
Post a Comment