Kittens and the 72nd Precinct

The 72nd Precinct has had a lot of action lately. Between catching bodega robbers with guns, patrolling the park and picking up passed out revelers, checking out the 45th Street station for nefarious behavior, and racing up side streets to address emergency calls, they've certainly got their hands full. And that's just the activity I have heard about in the last 48 hours! If only they'd let in those of us without press credentials to check out the blotter on Tuesdays, I'm sure we'd see much more of their good works.

Here's one good deed that took some pressure off the officers. And it helped cement some warm, fuzzy feelings towards our precinct. At least that's the distinct impression I got from watching this drama unfold yesterday afternoon.

A group of children and adults stopped to check out a box* left on the side of the road; perhaps they heard sounds coming from the box. Once they peeked inside, they had a short discussion of what to do, and then called either 311 or 911. This group waited by the box for about 15 to 20 minutes until 72nd Precinct officers showed up to assess the situation. See for yourself.

* The box was one of those carrying boxes you see kids selling candy from. It had a colorful spaceship motif. If you saw someone carrying this near the Park on Tuesday, that was the kitten-abandoning culprit!

After opening the box, this officer donned blue protective gear to get a closer look. (Not being a cat person, and having allergies to the furry dander beings, I would have too.) One little black kitten poked out his head to check the condition of his surroundings.

Another little guy joined his sibling's curiosity. The second officer was more daring; he dove right in without gloves and took a look at the kittens.
How cute are these two? Even though I'm not a cat fan, I have to admit I was tempted to take them in. And then I thought better of it. The kittens were loaded up into the police car and driven away. I suppose anyone interested in adopting them could call the precinct at (718) 965-6311 to find out where they went. Otherwise, go to the Love Wanted event in Bay Ridge on Saturday. (I think the post goes up tomorrow.) The good news is, they looked in healthy condition. And no one had done this to them.

Keep Our Block Clean

"Lets keep "our" block CLEAN throw "all" garbage in garbage can on corner"

Despite the bizarre punctuation (or lack thereof), I have to "heartily" agree with the sentiments on this sign on 4th Avenue and 44th Street.

Happy Parking Problems Monday!

You have to get your car off the wrong side quick. Sometimes you get lucky; other times, you're just seven minutes late and it's a done deal.

This guy looked genuinely stunned that she stuck the ticket on the windshield despite his presence. She had already scanned the information and written it up, so he really was just two minutes too late here. They had a very civilized conversation about the situation. Nice to see. I think he was still in shock, though. It was past 8:30. And it's not like she had been waiting there at 8:25. Afterwards, she walked leisurely to the van and the other car up the street. No staking out today.

The following photos show the worst in un-neighborly behavior.

Now, you might ask, "How the heck did he get his car like that?" Well, HE didn't. The car in front of him did it. Or at least that's what it seems happened, judging from the young man's reaction when he saw the car. The owner of the middle car LOVES his car. He takes really good care of it and he even shows respect when parking. His bumper is clean - without a bumper cover. No squeezing into spaces for him. Then this happens.

I mean, come on people. I know parking is key, but the next block up usually has spaces available. Or doing a round or two will show a parking spot in easy walking distance. Do you really need to crush the signal light and MOVE the car behind you to get a parking spot? (Actually, some people seem to think it is necessary.) If it's that important to you, you should have planned better.

Even though he was pretty upset, the owner didn't go ballistic or take out a key or even leave a nasty note. Those would have been un-neighborly responses. Especially without definite proof. He also couldn't move his car without causing further damage. Hopefully it will all turnout well - little or no damage, little or no negative interactions, and future courtesy on all sides. Perhaps there needs to be an official Etiquette of Parking in general. Double-parking has some unspoken rules.

42nd Street Trying to Keep it Clean

The 42nd Street block between 4th and 5th is doing its best to keep trash where it belongs. That's the block with the new-ish condo building (you know, the ones that caused 43rd Street backyards to sink during its construction?).

Well, the block has several signs in Spanish and English adorning trees (must you staple into them?) that politely request that you keep your trash in the containers meant for trash. They even remind you that there are trash receptacles on every street corner!

Personally, I think the owner of the pooch below gets the point across much more succinctly. It's also on 42nd Street.

People Can Be So Good

Last week I was a bit soured on People. Some friendly neighborhood car-parker felt the need to push my car back three or four feet to make room for his (sorry, but I do think it was a guy) much larger car. He PUSHED it back while I had the emergency brake on. Crazy. I have a very artsy dent on my bumper, and the fancy license plate frame (free from the dealer) is broken into four pieces. Besides all that, he was still parked too close to the fire hydrant, but I guess the PAL license plate and stickers protect and serve more than neighborly actions.

Anyway, today sweetened my mood. I had taken my toddler to Key Food to pick up a few things for dinner, and somewhere between the arugula and the pie crusts, his hat went missing. I guess I was too distracted with winning at the stroller slalum course up and down the aisles. It's the cutest hat ever. In fact, it's so cute that I get a little embarrassed when I put it on my cherub's head. I prefer the less flashy side, but that baby loves the duck, or the "Quack Quack," as he calls it.

Once I'd carried the stroller up the stoop stairs and folded it up and brought the groceries and my son into the apartment, I realized that the duck was missing. I trotted back down to Key Food with babe in arm to see if it was anywhere to be found. It wasn't. I asked the very pleasant cashier. I asked the manager. I scooted up and down the aisles. I'll even admit I gave a side-long glance at several carts to see if it had been found by a fellow admirer of ducks. Nothing.

On my way home, I ran into a neighbor who spends a good amount of time on the block. He hadn't seen it either, but he said he'd keep an eye out. Pretty much, I had already started to come to terms with a life without the duck hat. Oh well. It wasn't a tragedy, but we never even had much of a chance to wear the hat!

Long enough story short, after about 15 minutes of reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and throwing a few balls around the place, our doorbell rang. I figured it was another delivery for my downstairs neighbor. I think it's her birthday this week; she's already gotten two fancy cards and a FedEx package.

As I went down to answer the door, I saw the neighbor with whom I had chatted about the missing hat. He was holding a Key Food bag...and the hat was in the bag. Hooray for neighborly behavior! Hooray for people who turn things into the Lost & Found at Key Food! Hooray for doing the right thing and then some. It turns out, I had been too quick about getting back to the Key Food. The hat was with the cashier and when my neighbor asked about it, they very excitedly and happily gave it to him to bring back to us.

I love this place.

By the way, if you want a cute duck hat too, you can buy one here:

Duck Hat