Tagged: cars

New York City Kids Stay Home, Cars Stay Put

Correction: A friend correctly points out that alternate side was suspended because of a “lesser-known” Jewish holiday, not due to an obscure civic holiday. Juan regrets the error.

Although I don’t own a car, I almost always catch wind of whether “alternate side” is suspended for the day. For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of New York City on-street parking, “alternate side” refers to the schedule when most New York City streets are swept, which forces car owners to move their cars long enough for the sweepers to scatter trash around the street. On one day, one side is swept, and on another day, the “alternate side” is swept. The frequency of the sweeping varies, but both sides of most streets are swept at least once a week.[1]

Each morning, the local news media announce whether “alternate side” is suspended, usually due to a civil or religious holiday observance. Today, June 5, alternate side is suspended, but I couldn’t figure out why.

It turns out that today is the first Thursday of June, and in New York City, that’s a school holiday known as Chancellor’s Conference Day. Before 2005, it was known as Brooklyn-Queens Day. Back in 2003, The New York Times explained the quirky school holiday.

If you happen to attend public school in Brooklyn or Queens, chances are you are sleeping late and may never glimpse this article because today is all about leisure. If you are stuck in Manhattan, the Bronx or Staten Island, on the other hand, suck it up and get to class.
Such are the vagaries of Brooklyn-Queens Day, a relic of a school holiday that is exclusively for students and teachers in two boroughs. Even weirder than the holiday’s existence, perhaps, is that nobody seems to know why it exists.

After 2005, the city renamed the school holiday and expanded to the other boroughs. I’m pretty sure this is why “alternate side” is suspended. But it is fine that one side of the street won’t get swept today. Close to an inch of rain fell on the city this morning.

  1. Hunters Point in Long Island City is a notable exception.  ↩

Bike Month for Everyone… Even Cars

After a brutal winter and before a sultry summer starts, it’s a perfect time to get out on a bike. Plus it’s National Bike Month, and in New York City, there are ton of events, such as:

And these are the ones I know off the top-of-my-head. Trust me, there’s much more.

I’ll be volunteering for Bike to Work Day at the bike path at the Queensborough Bridge in the morning, handing out coffee and snacks to intrepid bike riders, many of whom are riding to work for the first time.

With so much going on, it’s no wonder that even automobile drivers want to get in on the action and ride too.

If only these drivers would get out of their cars before driving on the Queensborough Bridge’s bike path…

By the way, if you think this is absolutely crazy and never happens, then you haven’t ridden across the Queensborough Bridge bike and pedestrian path very many times. I’ve seen it at least three times in my six years living in Queens. One time, I saw two cars appear to get lost and end up in the bike and pedestrian path. They retreated once they got stuck around the hairpin turn at the bottom of the Manhattan approach and a bunch of people yelled at them, guiding them to the automobile lane. Another time, a sedan sped up the Manhattan side of the bridge. I was riding along in front of him, huffing and puffing from climbing that ramp on a single-speed, and then I head a loud throttling engine accompanied by horn honking warning me to get out of the way. Instinctually, I moved to the right to avoid getting hit. I tried to chase the car to get a picture, but the driver was too fast.

Gallery: Glass in the Bike Lane

Glass in the Bike Lane
Glass in the Bike Lane

On 44th Drive in Long Island City, there is almost always glass in the bike lane. It’s troubling. Not only does this cause flat tires for unsuspecting cyclists as they commute down this important neighborhood arterial, it also bodes poorly for cars parked on the street. Presumably, someone smashed their windows.