Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > United States
Reload this Page >

Queens, NY - Do not go

Search

Queens, NY - Do not go

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 04:04 AM
  #21  
 
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 36,842
Likes: 0
Gretchen, did they mention where you can park if you visit them? Was one a Korean Tea Shop?
NeoPatrick is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 06:43 AM
  #22  
 
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 6,476
Likes: 0
There are over 175 languages spoken in Queens. In fact some scholars of linguistics have gone to Queens to study some dying languages from other areas of the world. Some of the best and cheapest ethnic food can be found in Queens and PS 1 is an interesting museum. That said, it is not one of the top tourist attractions.

The article in this past Wednesday's NY Times Food section regarding Korean food was highly instructional and made Korean food extremely enticing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/dining/critics-notebook-pete-wells-explores-korean-restaurants-in-queens.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw%2C{%221%22%3A%22RI%3A7%22}&_r=0
IMDonehere is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 07:27 AM
  #23  
SZ
 
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
Oh, man. I've lived in Queens for 15 years and am just now learning about the Dunkin' Donuts parking scam. Might be time to move to the Bronx.

But seriously -- as a Queens resident, I recommend visiting the borough for a day as part of a larger NYC trip. The Queens Museum of Art and the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows are great, and the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria is world-class. Keep your expectations low in terms of architecture -- it's remarkably ugly (with a few exceptions, such as the stunning Forest Hills Gardens).
SZ is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 07:30 AM
  #24  
Conversation Starter
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 27,868
Likes: 0
Not to excuse OP, but I had almost the same thing happen in my home town.

I parked in Post office lot. There was a tow truck parked just outside the lot, on the street. A flatbed kind. Didn't see it at the time.

I walked into to the post office, got a priority box. Walked out, went to me car to get my packing tape, which I left. I walked across the street for 5 minutes to buy a package of tortillas that were going no into the box. In that 5minutes, they had my car easy to hoist up on the flatbed.

They didn't care that I had been IN the Post office first (said they didn't see me go in, only saw me close the door after I got tape and went across the street.) and was heading BACK to post office.

They did leave my car all me, but it wasnt a very nice scene. They were nasty beyond belief. When I got onto the PO, the clerk said because of the location, right near college campus, small lot, near the favorite campus restaurant etc etc, these guys just hung out and picked up cars of anyone who stepped foot off the lot.

I admit I did that, and that although I had been in the PO first, then put, then IN, I was guilty. And yes there was a sign. I just didn't think that 5 minutes would matter. Oh, the PO clerk said, these guys get a % of each tow.
DebitNM is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 07:40 AM
  #25  
 
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
>

Ignorance in abundance.

Unless Queens has seceded from the rest of the City, it is PART of New York City. The comparison is inane.
BigRuss is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 07:44 AM
  #26  
 
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,661
Likes: 0
Ride the train to Queens.
suewoo is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 08:00 AM
  #27  
 
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 19,736
Likes: 0
I used to ride the train there, but the station is too far from the Dunkin Donuts.
vincenzo32951 is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 08:12 AM
  #28  
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 7,342
Likes: 0
"I walked into to the post office, got a priority box. Walked out, went to me car to get my packing tape, which I left. I walked across the street for 5 minutes to buy a package of tortillas that were going no into the box. In that 5minutes, they had my car easy to hoist up on the flatbed."

I remember reading about that when you posted in the past. I actually thought of the "tortilla incident" when I read the OP yesterday.

I also saw a reality show once about a tow truck guy whose job it was to watch out for walk-offs at one particular parking lot.
vjpblovesitaly is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 08:32 AM
  #29  
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,169
Likes: 0
In Allston, a student heavy area of Boston, the tow trucks watch the CVS lot. It is lucrative because students don't read signs. They are too busy texting.
Ackislander is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 12:07 PM
  #30  
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 10,322
Likes: 19
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Queens, It may not be the top tourist spot as stated by Lonely Planet but it's a great place to visit.
nelsonian is online now  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 01:02 PM
  #31  
 
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 98,197
Likes: 12
I must be psychic. A brand new poster with a single post.
suze is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 01:34 PM
  #32  
 
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,876
Likes: 0
Well, duh, I had it happen in Charlotte NC, parking in a bank lot to go to a class at CPCC. I was wrong. HOWEVER, I did come back in time to see them--and they had dented my car quarter panel, so I had some negotiating room.
The OP is a ditz==cute, but a ditz.
Gretchen is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 02:05 PM
  #33  
 
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 18,251
Likes: 22
And a large percentage of visitors to NYC arrive and depart from Queens as JFK and LGA airports are located there.
HappyTrvlr is offline  
Old Dec 19th, 2014 | 03:36 PM
  #34  
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,886
Likes: 0
Yes, but why they would e driving around in Queens is a big question.

EVERYONE says do NOT rent a car in NYC.

People who bring theie own cars simply need to follow the posted rules - and they wouldn;t have nay problems.

If you don;t - you just have to pay the fines and stop whining.
nytraveler is offline  
Old Dec 21st, 2014 | 05:06 AM
  #35  
 
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 9,171
Likes: 0
Just happened to friends in Queens. He is from there and was visiting. They towed his rental. Don't think he was at dunkin though. He was pissed but paid it.
flpab is offline  
Old Dec 21st, 2014 | 06:41 AM
  #36  
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,623
Likes: 0
DebitNM

There is a conditional qualifier known as "if and only if..." which is followed by a condition that is determined solely by the owner of the commodity in demand, in this case, a parking lot. This is a fact that is often lost on those who don't own the commodity/lot, because the reward for ignoring who owns the lot, that of one's own convenience or fondness for the commodity in question, is very tempting.

In my case, I tried to ignore who owned a certain chocolate bar. My argument was that the chocolate bar was stamped "Hershey" and that I knew that the party claiming ownership wasn't named Hershey and that therefore they weren't legitimately the owner.

You apparently tried the Hershey excuse on the patrollers of the PO lot. You were even more brazen than I was, you now claim outrage because the patrollers acted like the enforcers they were hired by the PO to be.


The PO, like the owner of the above-mentioned chocolate bar, gets to set the condition as to how they will allocate their, that's their, commodity. This includes defining 'while' as in 'parking free while a customer of the store. You wanted to redefine 'while', expanding it to include that you were to be considered a customer so long as you had some previously purchased item, in the form of a priority box, acting like a magical Lord of the Parking Lot Tokens. (The OP's magical LOTPLT was even flimsier, in the form of an ice cream/donut.) The patrollers evidently knew nothing about Tolkien but were unfortunately not only well acquainted with the PO/Dunkin' Donuts policy, they were able to emulate the nastiness of orks.

You, the OP, and I, we all tried to bluff, but so far only one of us is admitting to it. You and the OP should at least own up to the fact. I did so, although I have to confess, the marks of my guilt were literally on my lips.
Sue_xx_yy is online now  
Old Dec 21st, 2014 | 08:05 AM
  #37  
Conversation Starter
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 27,868
Likes: 0
I don't even know what all that means...I guess you want me to say, "I admit it, I parked illegally." And that I should just let them tow my car away and pay the fine for the error of my way. Uh, ok. I admit it, I parked illegally. Forgive me father for I have sinned. Whatever.
DebitNM is offline  
Old Dec 21st, 2014 | 08:23 AM
  #38  
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,886
Likes: 0
Not forgive you that you have sinned. Just pay the cost of the infraction and don;t behave as if you have been treated badly when you were in the wrong.
nytraveler is offline  
Old Dec 21st, 2014 | 12:00 PM
  #39  
 
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 6,476
Likes: 0
I think that Dunkin has added a new flavor-towfoo.
IMDonehere is offline  
Old Dec 21st, 2014 | 12:41 PM
  #40  
 
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,876
Likes: 0
I am absolutely amazed that everyone is amazed that tow trucks stake out parking lots and that they get a % of the tow. LOL
Gretchen is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement -