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Park Slope Mom Questions Sidewalk Etiquette
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 8, 2011
Modified Feb 8, 2011
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 8, 2011
Modified Feb 8, 2011
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FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
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Photo via ctownjb's flickr
Sure, there are some common sense rules when walking on the sidewalks of New York City, but did you know this rule? A Park Slope parent was recently "accosted by a silver-haired woman and her cone-wearing dog" for talking on her iPhone while standing on the sidewalk and leaning against a brownstone. The older woman informed her:
“You know there’s a rule. When you stand on the left, I have to deviate from my path and walk around you. The rule is, you’re supposed to stand on the right.”
To which the Park Slope mom responded: "I have lived in cities all over the world and I can tell from experience, THERE’S NO RULE.” (Yes, it is hard to pick a hero in this tale.) This went on for a while, and now Park Slope mom says she wakes up in the middle of the night, haunted by one question: Should we be like cars? She now sees Park Slope's sidewalks as "minefields," and asks: "Maybe there should be a rule of the sidewalk?" FIPS called 311 to ask if there were any sidewalk rules, and of course there aren't—which means this woman may be haunted for the rest of her life until this sidewalk anarchy is controlled by The Law.
Tagged
brooklyn
etiquette
park slope
sidewalk
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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