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Parking up the wrong street

By Mike McLaughlin
The Brooklyn Paper
The Brooklyn Paper / Jeff Bachner
Opposite sides of this “No Parking” sign on Pacific Street display conflicting information.
The Brooklyn Paper / Jeff Bachner

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Vandalized parking signs near a Boerum Hill school touched off a brouhaha last week over one of the city’s scarcest and most vital resources — parking spots.

A Pacific Street resident returned home last Thursday to discover his car had been towed because someone had crudely tampered with a “No parking” sign to make it seem that his legal spot was in a zone reserved for teachers at PS 38, also on the block between Third Avenue and Nevins Street.

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Anarchy has ensued. Residents have exchanged accusations with the school — and each side alleges its rightful spaces have been lost by defacement of the signs.

The school’s principal denied incendiary rumors that appeared on an Internet message board claiming that a custodian was seen altering a one-headed arrow indicating the no-parking zone so that the arrow had two heads — thereby limiting the entire south side of Pacific Street to vehicles with Department of Education placards.

The man whose car was towed certainly thinks a school official did the deed.

“You have to ask yourself who benefits by making the whole block ‘school-only’ parking,” said David Jacobson.

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But the principal claims this not the first case of sabotage, with miscreants concealing the regulations with white paint, leaving her staff uncertain of where they can park.

“The whole block is messed up. The signs are ruined,” said Yolanda Ramirez.

The truth is that PS 38 is entitled to about six spaces on Pacific Street, which will be made clear when the Department of Transportation, the judge, jury and executioner of on-street parking, replaces the tampered signs.

©2008 Community Newspaper Group

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Reader Feedback

Frank Rizzo from Boerum Hill says:
Do you get ALL your stories by reading blogs, taking the contents and then not crediting the original source? Dear God. Get out there and do you own work, you useless, brainless imitation of a reporter. There was a time when Brooklyn Paper reporters did research and reporting rather than seeing what blogs publish and adding fifty words to the story without saying where it came from. You are a pathetic excuse for a "reporter." Find a new line of work.
April 17, 2008, 11:38 pm
Gersh Kuntzman (Brooklyn Paper) says:
Actually, that story came to us from a tip from one of our readers, which has been a way of getting stories since long before I got into the business. Believe me, Frank, Brooklyn Paper reporters work extremely hard and do not merely swipe stories off blogs.

Thanks for reading.

GERSH
April 18, 2008, 11:02 am
Carl Kent from Carroll Gardens says:
Bring back Jotham Sederstrom and Ariella Cohen!!! Enough of these underpaid, marginally talented people whose idea of reporting is reading blogs and barfing it back up. While these people are busy figuring out what previously-reported stories they like, they're leaving DOZENS of important stories every week that require reporting to discover, unreported. Hard to know whether to laugh, cry or scream. Dear God, hire some kids who know Brooklyn or who are intellectually curious enough to find unreported stories. This is New York City. There must be at least one available.
April 18, 2008, 4:57 pm
Gersh Kuntzman (Brooklyn Paper) says:
I must protest: All of our reporters live in Brooklyn. And I believe they are quite talented. They work hard putting out a damn good newspaper.

That said, we are ALWAYS open to hearing from our readers. Mr. Kent inferred that we are missing "dozens of important stories" every week. Please feel free to suggest story ideas.

GERSH KUNTZMAN
Editor
April 18, 2008, 6:47 pm

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