From The New York Shitty Inbox: Ice

T writes:

Hi, Miss Heather…I live on Eagle Street… between Franklin and Manhattan.  Last night, while simply trying to drive a single block to move my car for alternate side parking, I nearly killed a pedestrian while driving about 5 miles an hour.  You see, no one has seen fit to either salt, sand or plow Eagle Street, nor any of the other cross streets above Greenpoint Ave, so far as I can tell.  While there is about 4 inches of slushy snow on the street, I found out very quickly that there is about an inch of black ice under it all.  I noticed the same issue during the last snow storm.  Manhattan Ave and Franklin seem to be adequately plowed/salted.  What the hell is the deal with the cross streets??  It’s dangerous and annoying.  I called 311 and filed a complete with the Department of Sanitation, but I’ve only lived here for a year and a half (two winters…last winter was barely snowy), so I have no idea if this is a historical problem or if it’s the result of budget cuts do to the economy.  So I was curious – am I over-reacting to a one time problem, or is this something that you and others, having lived here for much longer, have witnessed and are familiar with?  If so, is it a ‘(people) don’t complain to the city so we don’t care’ issue?  Is it a budget/resources issue?  Before I go ape shit with the Dept of Sanitation I was hoping for some input from wiser, calmer souls.  Any thoughts or interest at all on this issue?

One thing I have observed the last couple of weeks is the Department of Sanitation appears to have gone on a ticketing blitz mostly directed at residential properties which have not kept their sidewalks clean and clear. I have seen literally dozens of tickets, so obviously some kind of enforcement is being implemented. That said— and speaking as a pedestrian— what rankles me is the number of derelict construction sites whose sidewalks (if indeed they exist— many have been smashed to smithereens) have been rendered impassable due to piles of snow and black ice. CASES IN POINT:

544 Union Avenue

This property has been ticketed by the DOS…

for litter! Given this lot is covered in some areas with as much as two feet of snow I find this fascinating.

1059 Manhattan Avenue

This one is a big, BIG bee in my bonnet. I have lived in Greenpoint for ten years. This sidewalk has been a disaster area for as long as I can remember. In fairer weather it is a pockmarked gauntlet of rubble, in the winter it is downright dangerous. In either case it poses a problem for the many elderly people who live around the corner at Mary D’s Senior Center. You see, in order to purchase groceries (or pretty much anything else for that matter) they have to negotiate this death trap. Some in fact, do this. Most don’t: they walk in the street instead. They way I see it, it is only a matter a time before someone breaks his/her hip at this site. Perhaps after this grisly scenario comes to pass the city will finally do something? I wouldn’t hold my breath.

In the meantime call 311 and complain, complain, COMPLAIN! I outline the exactly how you should go about this in this post. Read it, learn it, live it!

Miss Heather