Cool. Both Gothamist and Brooklyn Heights Blog have picked up my Church v.State post. Thanks. Gothamist has done some good original reporting too, getting interviews with the church and the precinct.
What cracks me up is the cop saying:
"But you're not allowed to park in the bike lane,"
No, they are, and it's you guys who are allowing it. For the record, this church is not the only house of worship in the neighborhood whose members enjoy illegal parking privileges. No one should have this 'understanding' with the government on the basis of religious belief, non-belief, or indifference.
There's a little more to this story, too. On the south side of the church is a large area that the church often uses as a parking space; the gate swings open, and they'll drive onto the sidewalk, into their property and then close the gate.
Before the bike lane existed, parking was allowed on that side of Henry during alternate-side-of-the-street cleaning, and I guess the church didn't want to get shut in during that time. So they found a "No Parking Any Time" sign, and hung it on their gate. It wasn't official, but its purpose was to fool you. The only people they wanted parking illegally were themselves. The sign is still there; you can see it 0:51 into the video.
You can also hear a woman say at 0:41, "Give them all tickets."
Lots of comments on both blogs, too. Some people seem to have a "Giuliani-esque" understanding of the First Amendment. Getting called some names as well, but that's ok, so did Katie Graham.
Let's see what happens this coming Sunday.
(And no, I don't think this is Watergate, and yes, I know that's Jason Robards playing Ben Bradlee).
Comments