Would you listen to this anonymous note?

amother

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 11:50 am

Twice so far someone left a note on my car saying that I should stop parking my car on this side of the street. No one signed it and no explainations why. It's not illegal to park there. I asked one of my neighbors why someone might have an issue with it, and she said most probably because it's by a bend and the apt building is full of bushes on by the curb ( which is illegal) and it makes it hard to see. ( this was her guess, she of course doesn't know the real reason) The problem is that there is no where else for me to park my car! We tried a few other spots and each one someone had a problem with it. It was a normal problem and they came out and told us personally, so we stopped parking there. The only place left is down the block! My dh said we don't have to listen to a note that no one signed. If someone has a problem with they should come out and tell us and well try working it out. I know he's right but I still feel funny parking there.

DefyGravity

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 11:56 am

Do you live in a city where you don't have parking in front of your own home? If so, it's first come, first served. If not, you should only park in front of your own home. I have a neighbor that has a driveway and ample space in front of his own home, and yet, still parks in front of my house, which is rude.

Mommastuff

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 12:02 pm

In plenty of places in Brooklyn, you don't reserve the spot in front of your own home. First come first serve. It annoys the heck out of me when someone parks in the middle of the two spots in front of my house so no one else can park there, not even me!

OP, I also would expect a name or a conversation. It could be a nut job. There is the really crazy guy on my MILs block.

louche

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 12:05 pm

Anonymous notes aren't worth the paper they're written on. As defy said, if you have a private house, you should park in front of it. If not, then it's first come, first served.

A question: do you have a van? I have been incensed by people parking vans at the corner. Their height and/or width make it impossible to see if traffic is coming. Especially if you are wheeling a stroller or wheelchair, vans or trucks parked at corners are a real hazard, forcing you to go out into the street to see if cars are coming--and by then you're already in their path.

amother

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 12:18 pm

Op here- thanx for your replies. No, we are not in the city. We live in the middle of a quiet street with houses and driveways. Our apt was once a house and then made into a few apts. We can't park in the driveaway so we park in front of the house on the street (again, it's not illegal). If it's the problem that it's hard to see (and again, it's just a guess) shouldn't he come out and tell us?

Yocheved84

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 12:29 pm

My FIL had the same thing happen to him! One day, he looked out the window and saw the culprit--the neighbor from across the street! Apparently, he felt that my FIL's 1989 Camry was an "eyesore" that took away his houses's property value and attractiveness.

Guess what? For a good few days that we were staying there, we decided to park on that guy's side of the street (and all of our cars are jalopies!)

Barbara

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 12:40 pm

I grew up in a row home, and people could get mighty territorial about parking spots. Nevertheless, and unless your municipality has some very unusual ordinances, you can park in any legal spot that you like. It doesn't have to be in front of your house, or on your side of the street.

If you *do* have a minivan, you should try not to park near driveways, to the extent possible, for the safety of your car and the safety of others. They're difficult to see around. Otherwise, your only real risk is that this person will go nuts and damage your car.

Sherri

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 2:55 pm

Yocheved84 wrote:

Thinking about this further, I'd like to add that not only should you not listen to the note, but you should NOT RESPOND to the note. You don't want antagonism and it could get nasty. Unless the notes get worse, I would just act like you don't see the notes and go about your business.

Yup. I-G-N-O-R-E.

MrsDash

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 5:00 pm

amother wrote:

If it's not illegal to park there and the anonymous tipster wont give you any reason, then ignore it. Next time you park there, leave a note for them stating, "Please stop littering on my car!"

Sherri

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 5:07 pm

yoshi wrote:

amother wrote:

If it's not illegal to park there and the anonymous tipster wont give you any reason, then ignore it. Next time you park there, leave a note for them stating, "Please stop littering on my car!"

I think she should try ignoring to the degree of not acknowledging the note, period. Not to leave a message, nothing.

life'sgreat

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 9:57 pm

While I agree that you shouldn't listen to an anonymous note, if it is by a curb and it makes it difficult to see, I think you should rethink this. It is heart stopping to drive around curbs here and have cars parked awkwardly in such places. It really is scary and it happens often in a place like Monsey, where the streets are curves.

You can test this simply by having you or your husband in another car drive around the street to see if that's an issue.

Rodent

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 10:19 pm

I would ignore it also but I understand the awful feeling it leaves behind.

We've had notes left a few times.
We drive a mini-bus. My husband got a note (nasty in tone) saying that he shouldn't park it there as it is such a big car and difficult to see around when reversing out of the drive or something. The opposite side of the street where he was parked there are no houses and you can park all down it (straight road, quiet). The side with the houses is no parking. Wherever he parked on the road it would be opposite someone's house and the same. To avoid the street he'd be almost a kilometre from where he works that day. I told him to ignore it but park opposite someone else's place. A few weeks before this someone graffitied with a permanent marker all down the driver side, I wonder if it was the same person. My biggest gripe with notes is that they don't give you a chance to retort and explain your position.

Where we live the garages are underground and our vehicle doesn't fit down there. There is limited visitor parking that residents use, mostly to house their second cars, we can and do use these when we can but there aren't enough. Often we stop on the side of the drive to unload kids and shopping and then go and park as it can be a kilometre or so from our house. One day a random guy pulled up next to me and refused to move until he gave me a verbal bashing through the window about not being allowed to park there. I was doing nothing illegal, I wasn't parked, I was stopped with the engine going, hazard lights on, behind the wheel while my husband unbuckled the kids. Meanwhile, the whole drive had cars actually parked all the way down as it does every evening.

Anyway, it makes me feel awful but you have to try and ignore it.

Raizle

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 11:08 pm

life'sgreat wrote:

Yeah but she said there were bushes at the curb which are illegal, so really it's the bushes that should go not the car.

life'sgreat

Thu, Jul 22 2010, 11:35 pm

Raizle wrote:

life'sgreat wrote:

Yeah but she said there were bushes at the curb which are illegal, so really it's the bushes that should go not the car.

Right, should. But if a person gets hit, or worse CH"V, it doesn't matter who was right. I don't think I'd be able to, in my good conscience, feel absolved of responsibility, right or not. Perhaps she should discuss the issue of the bushes with the right people.