3/5/2010:

Lawmaker’s big SUV finally gets a ticket

A Hoboken411 reader pointed out that 5th Ward Councilman (and “lawmaker”) Peter Cunningham parked his large Toyota Land Cruiser SUV in the intersection of 11th and Garden Streets last night, and received an appropriate parking summons for the offense. I suspect that the Hoboken Police extended a mild courtesy to him by not towing his truck the way they do other intersection offenders on a daily basis.

You can OPRA ticket number 0905-MC-505105 later to see if it was paid or dismissed. The reader said “Good Job HPD.”

Technorati Tags: 11th Street, Crosswalk, Garden Street, Hoboken, illegally parked, Intersection, New Jersey, NJ, parking offender, Parking Summons, parking ticket, Peter Cunningham

10/9/2009:

Hoboken411 reader Tim sent in this hypocritical picture of our famous Hoboken Parking Utility blocking buses on a county road in town…

Some Utility this is!

“Here’s a picture I took this morning near 5th and willow outside a breakfast shop on the east side of willow. The parking vehicle was double parked (when there was an open area right next to it) blocking the NJ Transit bus from passing. The bus couldn’t get past the side view mirror. Got to love Hoboken Parking “Utility!”

Respectfully,
Tim“

Technorati Tags: City Offender, Hoboken, Hoboken Parking Utility, HPU, New Jersey, NJ, parking offender, PHOTO OF THE DAY, photography, reader photo

10/6/2009:

Do you recall that Board of Education truck that Hoboken411 reader Todd had questions about earlier this spring? He’s baaaack!

Truck above all laws

“Remember that one picture I showed you of that annoying school truck that parks on 12th and Clinton? Well, here is clear evidence that this one truck is above all laws of Hoboken. Here is the truck parked on the street, and you can see the street cleaner has gone around it. There is no ticket on the windshield of the truck either. To be honest, I don’t care if it’s a school vehicle or not because it parks on the street every night and it takes up valuable spots for cars that do have valid Hoboken stickers. If you notice right behind it, isn’t that a huge driveway that the truck can park in nightly?”

How would you handle offending city vehicles?

Obviously, the town cleans the streets to maintain a certain quality of living here. Your penalty for not moving the car (and therefore leaving a “dirtier” street) is the summons you typically receive for being lazy (I personally see no big deal, because they can just clean it again next week – it’s not like piles of garbage build up on the streets – but I digress).

And it’d make no sense for the city to “pay itself” for offenses such as this – because like any shifty government, it’d just be money transferring from one pile to another. So what’s a better way to handle situations like this?

• Parking credits for residents? Any person that witnesses and documents city vehicles getting off scotch free would receive credits for future parking tickets.
• Make the employee pay? Police should issue summons – and the person(s) responsible for that vehicle would have to pay out of pocket.
• Eliminate the problem. Build a better municipal parking lot that can accommodate all city vehicles – street parking is for residents, damnit!

I’m sure there are bigger things to worry about these days – but that doesn’t mean we should look the other way.

Technorati Tags: Board of Education, city vehicle, Hoboken, Illegal, New Jersey, NJ, Parking, Reader Mail, Street Cleaning

9/3/2009:

I have no idea whether this Hoboken Fire Department SUV was on official business or not – but Hoboken411 reader Jaime has a rant about it:

Another day in Hoboken…

“So, I’m waiting for the bus yesterday afternoon at around 11:30am on Washington & 7th Streets in front of the All Saints School. There was a HFD Utility Jeep parked at this bus stop. Now ordinarily I really wouldn’t care since everyone parks at bus stops in Hoboken. What made this different was that it was parked at least six feet from the curb. If you’re going to park at a bus stop, please park next to the curb, not six feet away into the street creating an obstacle for oncoming cars.

The driver may have double parked initially. It looks like that may be the case when you look at one of these photos. But the funny thing is that the driver came back to the Jeep one time, took out some papers and made no attempt to park closer to the curb. Whatever. End of rant. Thank you.”

(Jaime – sorry for getting the name wrong on the photos – caught the mistake too late!)

Technorati Tags: City Offender, Double parking, Fire Department, Hoboken, New Jersey, NJ, Parking, PHOTO OF THE DAY, photography, reader photo

8/28/2009:

Why is this van here?

One Hoboken411 reader has emailed me a few times, indicating that she’s seen this Hoboken Recreation van parked in various areas – as if it was being used as personal transport – including during the weekend – and when no “recreational” events were taking place nearby.

I would suspect that a city vehicle belongs in some kind of gated area or garage when it’s not being used for official city business. But then again – this is probably as minimally important in the grand scheme of things – along the lines of more bike lanes in town. So take it for what it’s worth. Just relaying the message!

Technorati Tags: City Van, Hoboken, New Jersey, NJ, Reader Mail, Recreation Department

8/19/2009:

Can this be any more wrong?

Tonight at Wallace School – new Hoboken Police Chief Anthony Falco and other “important” city employees held a “Meet and Greet” for 5th-ward’ers. Part of this meeting was to talk about:

• Pedestrian Safety
• Parking Problems
• Traffic Safety

Well – what does one Hoboken411 reader spot?

A Hoboken City SUV:

• Parked in the yellow
• Parked in the intersection
• Parked in the crosswalk

The Hoboken definition of “Do as I say, not as I do!”

Technorati Tags: Anthony Falco, Crosswalk, Hoboken, Hoboken Police Chief, Hypocrisy, Illegal, Intersection, Meet and Greet, New Jersey, NJ, Parking, Wallace School, yellow curb

7/13/2009:

Over the years on Hoboken411 – the topic of where city vehicles park has surfaced quite often (there’s even a City Offender Zone category.)

However, after absorbing this issue quite frequently (and receiving many “ReaderPix” with various vehicles improperly parked) – I think now is a better time than ever to really sort out what is truly acceptable vs. what isn’t.

Emergency vehicles should get courtesy!

Lately – I’ve received a few reader photos that depict a cop car parked in front of a hydrant, etc. – and you just think – “the officer is on duty, their purpose is to uphold the law and ensure the safety of Hoboken residents.” Now while I’ll agree 100% that there is a very fine line between your or me getting a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts and an officer. Both cars block the hydrant, and most likely, we’re all in the coffee shop for the same period of time. So what’s the harm?, you might ask – “why do I get a ticket, and they don’t?” But did you ever demand a police car get a speeding ticket en route to a scene?

Well for one thing, a police officer is in a position of authority – not you. It is their responsibility to manage an emergency situation (such as a fire, accident, etc.) – and while I’m sure most of us could also volunteer our time to aid and assist in practically any sticky situation, it’s just not our job. In fact, I’d rather the police officer spend less time searching for a spot in our parking-deprived town – get his coffee and get back to work – don’t ya think? It’s your tax dollars, so do you want to pay for them driving around the block for an hour like the rest of us?

But there are still offenders

It’s my suggestion to let (at the very least) on-duty Police or Volunteer Ambulance staff have courtesy at these types of spots (preferably not intersections, because that DOES actually make it unsafe for others…) – but do you think regular “run of the mill” non-emergency city employees SHOULD NOT get this same courtesy? When you think of it – “they” run the city too – and we do want them to work as efficiently as possible too, no?

Where would you draw the line? How do you circumvent the parking problem? Should public vehicles get dedicated spots just for them? Would that solve the problem? Or would you just get mad that there’s that many less regular parking spots?

One way or another – the parking situation in the city as a whole really needs to be looked at!

POLL: Do you approve or disapprove?

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Share your thoughts in the comments section!

Technorati Tags: City Offenders, City Vehicles, Courtesy, Emergency Vehicles, Fire Hydrant, Illegal, Offense, Parking, Police Cars

6/17/2009:

Hoboken411 reader Mike spotted a Hoboken Parking Utility vehicle parked smack dab in the lane of traffic!

Hoboken411 reader photos of the day – 6/17/2009

“Everyone loves an ironic parking authority pic. Esp when there is a cop not writing a ticket.”

[Stay tuned for tomorrow's Readerpix entry! - Note: one reader's photo(s) will be featured each day at approximately 11am. Unless your photo is time-sensitive - it will be published in the order it was received! Additional note: Your pictures will have a better chance of being published if they're in "landscape" mode, as opposed to the taller "portrait" modes... ]

Technorati Tags: Hoboken Parking Utility, HPU, Parking Offenders, PHOTO OF THE DAY, photography, reader photo