Hof
August 2nd, 2007, 04:08 PM
Each time I drive to NY,I'm exposed to an ugly revelation,one I sometimes forget about here in spacious Florida.
There's NOPLACE to park my car,except in amazingly pricey garages or curbside--if I somehow even GET that lucky--but that's also where the predatory,patrolling tow trucks will snatch up my ride if I fail to decipher the remarkably confusing parking signs and park my car where it doesn't belong.
The towtrucks remind me of eagles snatching salmon from the sea,just trolling until they get a hit,and if one of them gets your car it costs you more than a garage will charge anyway.Catch-22.
I used to live here,eons ago,and I remember the many times I failed to alternate my car or forgot something from the paragraph of instructions printed on New York's impressively varied parking signs.
If you screw up and park wrong,the heartless penalty is a tow job and a few hundred bucks in fines.I got towed a lot.
I used to be able to easily find the impound lots around Manhattan,as though the directions to them were DNA imprints planted on me at birth.I remember going to one in Hell's Kitchen in the freezing dead of February,and I couldn't get my MG started.It had to stay there a few days.The storage fees almost made me abandon it forever.
In some cases,it was easier to find my car than it was to find the parking space it was towed from,but once,it wound up in The Bronx and it took me a few days to locate...After a few of those hysteric episodes,I gave up my car (actually,it got stolen) and lived in The Village for a few years with no car and no parking worries.
That's why I fly to NY these days.Having a car in NY is senseless.Learned that back in the '70s.
On some of my visits,however,I actually have driven to the City.
In 2003,I had a nearly-new Nissan 350Z.I still own it.It's nearly-old now,but it's become my favorite car ever.It's fast,comfy and--back then--pretty rare,and it's the perfect Florida car.It's the kind of a car that begs you to drive it somewhere,anywhere,and in Fall of '03 I listened to it's plea for a Road Trip and I went to New York.
My first night in the City,I parked my flashy sportscar on the street--in the W 80s--then spent a restless,paranoid night fantasizing about all the things that New York crooks would do to the Z if they got the chance,so I decided to put it in a West Side garage for my stay--5 days @ $70/day.Almost as much as the hotel room...
I had ugly "Ferris Bueller" visions of turning the key over to a pimply,drooling 19-year-old silently murmuring "Oh Boy",or listen to him drifting my car at rubber-screeching speeds up the garage's ramp as he text-messaged his buddies with a "You won't BELIEVE what just came in" post.I hated to do it,but I had to.
First,though,I wanted to change the oil,so I took it to Nissan of Manhattan,on 10th.
In NY,the car dealers don't have the luxury of acres of paved space to display their inventory,like their suburban cousins.A lot of Manhattan's dealers have clustered into a few blocks of the West Side near Midtown,and their "showrooms" are in old multi story freight and taxi warehouses,mostly along 10th.
During the day,they all park their inventory on the sidewalks or along the curb.Some have their showroom windows on the second floor.The salesmen prowl the sidewalks,looking for "ups".
At night,the showrooms present blank faces to the lonely street,identified only by glowing logos,their stock safely parked behind brick walls.
Nissan's no exception.They share a firewall with Toyota,and the daytime streets and sidewalks around their block are filled with gobs of Maximas mingling with Corrollas.Easy to find.
The Service Manager logged me in,admired the car and told me it would be late afternoon before the it was ready.As we talked,I told him of my parking dillemma.
"Will you need your car while you're in New York?' he asked.
"No.I can take taxis or the Subway".
"Then why not just leave it with us?We can take our time servicing it,and you can just call ahead if you need it,or if you're late picking it up".
He explained that,because it was a Friday,they'll probably be late with my Z anyway.If I wanted,I COULD pick it up Saturday,when they are open until 1PM.If I missed them on Saturday,they close Sunday,they are open Monday at 7 and I can get it anytime then.Just call him.
I called him Monday from Brooklyn and told him I was on Long Island.He said "No problem,we close at 8".We understood each other well...
So,for five days,the Z stayed among family,tucked into a warehouse,safe, dry and well-serviced.I saved $350.00 and was able to both sleep comfortably and extract every last ride from my Metrocard.The whole time I was in The City,I never needed a personal car.
On Tuesday afternoon I checked out of my hotel and took a cab to the dealership.
I was presented with a $30.00 bill for the oil change,and the Z was freshly washed and vacuumed.
Way to go,Nissan.
Way to go,New York.
There's NOPLACE to park my car,except in amazingly pricey garages or curbside--if I somehow even GET that lucky--but that's also where the predatory,patrolling tow trucks will snatch up my ride if I fail to decipher the remarkably confusing parking signs and park my car where it doesn't belong.
The towtrucks remind me of eagles snatching salmon from the sea,just trolling until they get a hit,and if one of them gets your car it costs you more than a garage will charge anyway.Catch-22.
I used to live here,eons ago,and I remember the many times I failed to alternate my car or forgot something from the paragraph of instructions printed on New York's impressively varied parking signs.
If you screw up and park wrong,the heartless penalty is a tow job and a few hundred bucks in fines.I got towed a lot.
I used to be able to easily find the impound lots around Manhattan,as though the directions to them were DNA imprints planted on me at birth.I remember going to one in Hell's Kitchen in the freezing dead of February,and I couldn't get my MG started.It had to stay there a few days.The storage fees almost made me abandon it forever.
In some cases,it was easier to find my car than it was to find the parking space it was towed from,but once,it wound up in The Bronx and it took me a few days to locate...After a few of those hysteric episodes,I gave up my car (actually,it got stolen) and lived in The Village for a few years with no car and no parking worries.
That's why I fly to NY these days.Having a car in NY is senseless.Learned that back in the '70s.
On some of my visits,however,I actually have driven to the City.
In 2003,I had a nearly-new Nissan 350Z.I still own it.It's nearly-old now,but it's become my favorite car ever.It's fast,comfy and--back then--pretty rare,and it's the perfect Florida car.It's the kind of a car that begs you to drive it somewhere,anywhere,and in Fall of '03 I listened to it's plea for a Road Trip and I went to New York.
My first night in the City,I parked my flashy sportscar on the street--in the W 80s--then spent a restless,paranoid night fantasizing about all the things that New York crooks would do to the Z if they got the chance,so I decided to put it in a West Side garage for my stay--5 days @ $70/day.Almost as much as the hotel room...
I had ugly "Ferris Bueller" visions of turning the key over to a pimply,drooling 19-year-old silently murmuring "Oh Boy",or listen to him drifting my car at rubber-screeching speeds up the garage's ramp as he text-messaged his buddies with a "You won't BELIEVE what just came in" post.I hated to do it,but I had to.
First,though,I wanted to change the oil,so I took it to Nissan of Manhattan,on 10th.
In NY,the car dealers don't have the luxury of acres of paved space to display their inventory,like their suburban cousins.A lot of Manhattan's dealers have clustered into a few blocks of the West Side near Midtown,and their "showrooms" are in old multi story freight and taxi warehouses,mostly along 10th.
During the day,they all park their inventory on the sidewalks or along the curb.Some have their showroom windows on the second floor.The salesmen prowl the sidewalks,looking for "ups".
At night,the showrooms present blank faces to the lonely street,identified only by glowing logos,their stock safely parked behind brick walls.
Nissan's no exception.They share a firewall with Toyota,and the daytime streets and sidewalks around their block are filled with gobs of Maximas mingling with Corrollas.Easy to find.
The Service Manager logged me in,admired the car and told me it would be late afternoon before the it was ready.As we talked,I told him of my parking dillemma.
"Will you need your car while you're in New York?' he asked.
"No.I can take taxis or the Subway".
"Then why not just leave it with us?We can take our time servicing it,and you can just call ahead if you need it,or if you're late picking it up".
He explained that,because it was a Friday,they'll probably be late with my Z anyway.If I wanted,I COULD pick it up Saturday,when they are open until 1PM.If I missed them on Saturday,they close Sunday,they are open Monday at 7 and I can get it anytime then.Just call him.
I called him Monday from Brooklyn and told him I was on Long Island.He said "No problem,we close at 8".We understood each other well...
So,for five days,the Z stayed among family,tucked into a warehouse,safe, dry and well-serviced.I saved $350.00 and was able to both sleep comfortably and extract every last ride from my Metrocard.The whole time I was in The City,I never needed a personal car.
On Tuesday afternoon I checked out of my hotel and took a cab to the dealership.
I was presented with a $30.00 bill for the oil change,and the Z was freshly washed and vacuumed.
Way to go,Nissan.
Way to go,New York.