In a radical move, the DOT will begin prohibiting cops from parking on the sidewalk outside the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in Brooklyn. Officers at Transit Bureau District 30 have parked on the sidewalk for years, but a new pedestrian plaza set to open next month will mean the end of a longstanding police privilege. Pedestrians and straphangers are rejoicing, with Jameer Henson, a law clerk, telling the Daily News, 'In the mornings it always bottlenecks at the top of the steps because there's only like half a sidewalk for the people coming and going to the subway. I won't be sad to see the cars go.'
But law enforcement officers are upset about the law being enforced! 'It's not a very bright idea,' one transit detective tells the News. 'There's literally nowhere for us to park around here. That's why we're on the sidewalk in the first place.' The new pedestrian mall is temporary, but DOT officials plan to extend the sidewalk and make it a permanent gathering space over the next two years. Also a bad idea, says the detective: 'This street's already too crowded. Cars can barely get by as it is with all the traffic and double-parking going on. Just imagine if you have 50 people sitting in the street.' First pedestrians take over the sidewalk, then the streets—next thing you know they'll be spreading a picnic blanket on Ray Kelly's desk!
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