The van that doubled as a storage unit for children’s bicycles is now out of the parking spot it occupied for six months, and several other vehicles have already made use of the space. Apparently, police needed to observe the vehicle taking up a spot for 72 hours before issuing a ticket, so they must have checked it out after our initial post on Monday, leading to a ticket yesterday.
We’re not sure if the ticket prompted the owner to remove it – as the presumed owner was seen changing the battery yesterday – or if police towed it.
Regardless, we’ll shut up about the van now.
The presumed owner, removing the battery from the derelict van.
It’s been a busy day for that van we told you about on Monday that has occupied a parking spot for six months despite complaints to the city. As we mentioned, the van is packed with what we’d say is a suspicious number of bicycles.
Find out what’s going on with the van, and why it may be gone by the end of the day.
Don’t you just love those streets with no Alternate Side Parking regulations? Theoretically, you could leave your car there for months – maybe even years – and so long as no one complains you won’t get a ticket, right?
Well, sort of. It’s technically illegal. But even complaining to the city won’t help you, as one reader discovered.
The reader noticed a van on Avenue W between East 21st Street and East 22nd Street as far back as six months ago. It may also be involved in some illegal activity, he notes. In what appears to be yet another 311 blunder, the system of the future is the newest venue for city authorities to give residents the runaround.
Continue Reading »
We received a report of a hit and run on Avenue Y and East 21st Street over the weekend. The reader previously sent us several reports of accidents at the intersection. He believes the area needs an All Way Stop sign. He writes:
It occurred at around 12:40 am on Saturday 12/04/10. I was sleeping and heard a loud boom. I looked out from my bedroom window and saw a white sedan backing up from the accident. Instead of stopping to assess the damage and perhaps leaving a note on the victim’s car, it sped off as quickly as it could. I couldn’t get the license plate numb, but I saw two people across the street at the time who didn’t take any action either.
I took these pictures this morning and the owner came shortly after. She came because she noticed something funny with the way her cerar was parked. Unfortunately she only had liability coverage and thus she’s looking at about $400 of repair cost.
We receive a lot of complaints from readers about the auto repair shop on Jerome Avenue and East 21st Street. Some told us about the physical condition of the shop; others complained about cars without plates taking up parking spots on the streets around it (though no one could prove it came from this garage).
Reader David M. has had enough, and has started taking note of the conditions around the lot. He snapped the above before and after photo, and shot us a note via Facebook saying the following:
This vehicle repair shop on Jerome Ave between E21 St & E22nd St is truly an eyesore to our community. Cars without plates are always parked on the sidewalk and there are weeds that look like small trees sprouting from the sidewalk. They also don’t seem to care that the sidewalk has become a dumping ground at night. In any event, after several complaints to the Sanitation Department, they’ve finally cut all the weeds and picked up all the garbage. Let’s see if they keep it up. I’ll keep you posted.
We hope you do, David. Thanks for keeping an eye out for the community.
Firefighters arrived at Avenue W and East 21st Street to battle a blazing ambulette at around 12:30 a.m.
According to a witness, no one appeared to be inside the vehicle, and no one was hurt. From his home nearby, the witness described the firefighters smashing the ambulette’s windows as sounding “like gun shots.”
The blaze was finally put out less than 15 minutes later.
Photo and tip from BrooklynQ.
One good thing about all the new condos in the area? They get rid of trees.
Wait, what? How can that possibly be good? Well, it appears Sheepshead Bay has an ongoing battle with trees falling on cars. This sucker (the branch, not the car owner) fell on top of a fancy-shmancy BMW on East 21st Street and Avenue Y. For the most part, it appears the car is undamaged. Except for the gaping hole left in the windshield.
I suppose the owner can always tell his friends it’s the latest accessory to compensate for his impress the ladies. “Look, gals! Who needs a spoiler? Ground effects are for pussies. I have the Air Circulator 4000GS. My hair will look like I drive a convertible with the top down, but I don’t!”
Here’s the rest of that sucker (again, the branch – not the car owner).
When did this Medieval-style fortress house get built on the corner of Voorhies Avenue and East 21 Street?
The front of the house doesn’t seem to have any windows to open, but the side of the house makes up for it. It can’t be as Medieval as it looks, though, with two satellite dishes installed on the side.
About a foot-wide, with a t-bar across the top, the metal box was sitting on too-tall a metal pole for me to verify whether that’s a glass cover in the front. Not wanting to disturb the homeowner of the property where the object was seen, I figured it was better to just ask our readers.
Is it a high-tech bird house or a security camera? If it’s the latter then right now, the property owners are looking at the footage and wondering why I was taking pictures of the thing.
You can find the object on East 21 St between Voorhies Ave and Jerome Ave.
(Photos courtesy of Sheepshead Bites reader)
There has been another serious motor vehicle accident in Sheepshead Bay. This accident occurred at around 7:50 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at the same location of Sunday’s accident – Avenue Y near East 21 Street and Ocean Avenue.
The same alert reader, who told us about the accident that occurred just two days ago on March 15, 2009, has written in with his account of what he saw after the accident had occurred. Here is an excerpt:
Based on looking at the scene, I believe it was a chain reaction accident that involved four different vehicles. The white Volkswagen might have had a hard stop forcing the white Lexus behind to have a hard stop as well. Then the gold color Toyota Camry also had a hard stop. But unfortunately, the new model Toyota Camry could not stop in time and crashed right into its back. From the pictures attached you can see the gold Toyota Camry suffered just as much damage as the white Toyota Camry — if not more.
There must have been at least one injury as I saw that the EMT carried someone onto a flat bed into their vehicle.
Thank you to our reader for the on-the-scene information. We hope he won’t have to send us another story like this ever again.
Our reader would like to reach out to those in our community, including politicians and transportation officials, to help put an end to these dangerous road conditions. Please feel free to write us, if you would like to contact him.
