Aduchamp1

I really annoyed at my fellow NY'ers-so here, once again, are the Rules of The Sidewalk:

Rules of the Sidewalk

For NY’ers and Tourists

•WALK TO THE RIGHT, even if you are English or a leftist.
•Electronic device users-take one pod out of your ear and place it up your butt so you will have stereo. WATCH WHERE YOU ARE WALKING!
•Do not stop short.
•Do not do pirouettes in the middle of the street when lost.
•Do not walk five across the street as if you are playing Ringo Leevio or Red Rover, Red Rover let Fred Come Over.
•Drink your coffee at the coffee shop. The street is not a cocktail party or your cubicle, so do not hold your drink in front of you.

Cell-ibites
•SHUT UP!!!. Now we know publicly how petty and inane you are privately.
•Do not dial the phone as you walk. Stand by the curb like dog at a fire hydrant.
•Do not pace the street, you are not home in your jammies and slippers.
•Watch where you are going. You are on the phone, not us.

Just NY’ers
•Do not run down the street between the walkers
•Do not ride your bike down the street. I know bikers think they are elevated live forms but pedestrians may disagree.
•Sunday fathers-do not use your child’s stroller as a battering ram. If you are mad that you are divorced or stuck with the kids, take it on yourself not us.
•Dog walkers-try not to have the entire 20 foot lead extend across the sidewalk. Someone is going to step on your Chihuahua.

Tourists
•Look at the map either at the curb or next to a building not on a corner, the middle of the street, by garbage cans already blocking the street, or on the subway steps.
•If you must window shop do it by the windows and not from the middle of the sidewalk with binoculars.
•Jay-walking is a NYC sport. If you are going to wait for a light, get out of the way of those who want to break the law.
•If you are going to look up assign a designated seeing-eye tourist so others can pass.

Thank you and have a nice day

MFNYC

also when going down a stairway (into the subway, etc) do not stop and stand when you reach the bottom, and vica versa

obxgirl

These seem like sensible rules for most major cities that double as tourist destinations.

krgystn

These rules should hold true everywhere-- not just NYC. (With the exception of the right-left rule that gets reversed in certain countries.)

bachslunch

The riding-your-bicycle-on-the-sidewalk issue is also very much a problem in Boston and Cambridge (especially in places specifically marked as no-bike areas), as are such biker stupidities as riding the wrong way down one-way streets, tailgating pedestrians on sidewalks, and tearing through stoplights and stop signs. It's all dangerous behavior not just for the pedestrians and car drivers around them, it's unsafe for the bicyclists themselves. Several are aggressive and nasty sorts, too.

I very rarely check a map or guidebook printout on the street or while on public transportation -- usually, I duck into a store and discreetly do so there. No point advertising so point-blank that you're a tourist, with whatever unwanted stranger attention it sometimes attract.

NewbE

Yes, all very sensible, except that if you feel the need to resurrect sidewalk usage rules annually, I suggest instead:
--Xanax
--an alcoholic beverage
--a Xanax with an alcoholic beverage
--a vacation!
--moving elsewhere, a place without tourists, other residents or sidewalks

Aduchamp1

Actually, I feel the need to post them daily.

And I would never move any where else unless we lose our rent controlled apartment.

tenthumbs

WAY too much common sense and courtesy in that list, Adu....it will never fly.

starrs

<groan>

nytraveler

Here's a couple more:

If entering a store - open the door and go in. Do not open the door and then stand in it while you talk to someone behind you or wait for someone else to catch up. the rule is in or out - do NOT stand in the doorway.

If you are taking a photo of people standing in front of a building (god only know why) while you are standing near the curb - do not expect people to stop so you can get a clear shot. There are dozens of people trying to get to work or home or wherever - they don;t have time to wait 3 minutes while you compose a nonsensical photo. (If you must take these photos do it at 6 am - when there are many fewer pedestrians.

Also - do not back out into the street to get a better shot - you are likely to be run down by a bus or taxi. (I saw this happen this evening - the woman jumped about 5 feet in the air when the bus honked at her. Then looked mad. But she was holding up a hundred people trying to get home.)

LSky

"Actually, I feel the need to post them daily."

Post them daily? Waste of time.

Have them run on a marquee in Times Square.

Aduchamp1

WAY too much common sense and courtesy in that list, Adu...

Do not be concerned, I will returrn to my ridiculous ways soon.

Margo_Chester

Great list! For the past few days I thought I would scream if one more person in front of me (locals and tourists alike)didn't start walking when the light changed (or it was clear to walk anyway) because they were texting their oh-so-important message at the intersection . . . seriously, no one cares what you are doing every second, you are not that important. Stop texting and GET MOVING!

<Have them run on a marquee in Times Square> Best idea ever!

Lateagain

What a load of Yonkers!! get over yourselves.

nytraveler

An attitude I would expect from someone that lives in Yonkers.

debnyc

Here's another one to add to the list for NYer's and tourist:
When you get on the subway MOVE into the car and don't stand in front of the closing door.
And for tourist...it's really not fun or cute when your kids are don't little dances on the subway poles or sitting on the floor. Honestly it's dirty and disgusting and I wouldn't let my kid do that. EVER!

Aduchamp1

Here is one I forgot. Parents that push their stroller from the side instead of behind, so now they walk for two. I just assume it is not cool to have both hands on the stroller and it frees one hand for a phone or a latte.

LSky

"it's really not fun or cute when your kids are don't little dances on the subway poles or sitting on the floor"

ewww

giro

Having just spent over two months in NYC, I can tell you that NYers have mastered walking on the sidewalk and entering train cars, but have NO idea how to behave while behind the wheel. The most common attribute of a NY driver is the ability to honk one's horn the moment the light turns green giving the driver ahead virtually no chance to accelerate before hearing the horn.
While I'm at it, it is perfectly clear to me that the only way to survive in traffic is to be aggressive and look out for number one at all times. With that being said, it is understandable why NYers are such a-holes while behind the wheel.
The malfeasance of out of town pedestrians pales in comparison.

Aduchamp1

Manhattanites have one of the lowest or the lowest rate of car ownership per household in the country at 25%. New York City overall is less than 50% and the national average is 92%. So I guess it all those people from other areas are creating the problem.