Rules of The Sidewalk-NYC
 

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Actually, I feel the need to post them daily.

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

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

<groan>

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.)

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

Post them daily? Waste of time.

Have them run on a marquee in Times Square.

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

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

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!

What a load of Yonkers!! get over yourselves.

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

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!

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.

"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

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.

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.

You guess wrong. Those driving around Queens and not tourists from Fargo....

Stop being such a baby. Mommy, mommy someone honked at me. There are 175 languages spoken on Queens, honking is the Esperanto, the universal language of Queens. It could be all those people from Long Island passing through.

If that is worst you can say about NY after two months, then you had a good stay. You want to see bad drivers try Boston and Arizona.

There was a study a few years back and folks in different parts of the country were timed to see how long it would be before they honked at another car at a light. In NYC it was split-seconds - as soon as the light changed, the second car in line would honk. I don't remember the exact times but in some parts of the country the time lag was 20 seconds and in other parts of the country it was TWO CYCLES OF THE LIGHT before the second car honked. I can drive for days in my area and not hear a honk. It really is more unusual than common. I guesstimate that I honk the horn about 3 times a year.

What giro said is true. Saying so certainly doesn't make him/her crybaby.

25% of the Manhattan population and 50% of NYC is still a heck of a lot of cars in a small amount of space. The taxi drivers may be from out of town but the majority of drivers in NYC are not from out of town.

There's nothing wrong with pointing out that NYC drivers are aggressive. Heck, I found myself racing a cab at a light to merge left. I don't normally drive that way but found I got caught up in the energy.

It's a bit funny/strange for someone who talks about preemptive elbowing to have a problem with a post pointing out the drivers in NYC are aggressive and honk their horns almost immediately. I agree with giro that the aggressive drivers in NYC aren't from Fargo.

There are bad drivers everywhere but NYC is certainly known for aggressive and noisy (horn-honking) drivers. :-)

Here is an excerpt from an published by the NY Times earlier this year:

New York City, it turns out, is among the safest cities in the nation to travel in.

The last two years have had the lowest numbers of traffic deaths since the city began keeping records about a century ago, according to Transportation Department statistics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/ny.../07safety.html
____________________

So safety is not a concern but honking is. HONKING! Well let's lower the amount of hinking and increase the deaths so we are more in keeping with national statistics.

Yes, the lowest rate of households for owning cars is too high. Let me ponder that one for a moment.

No city in the US has a greater porportion of people taking public transportation to work. But there is probably something worng with that also.

No one is talking about dangerous driving, they are talking about honking! Honking! That is why you do not live streets leading to the tunnels.

WAHHH, someone is honking at me.

"New York City, it turns out, is among the safest cities in the nation to travel in"

No one said it isn't.


"The last two years have had the lowest numbers of traffic deaths since the city began keeping records about a century ago, according to Transportation Department statistics."

Congrats.


"Stop being such a baby. Mommy, mommy someone honked at me."
"WAHHH, someone is honking at me."

Typical Adu.

I'm sorry. Wait, this should work.

"Hey you guys, stop honking out there. Especially you guys in Queens. Thanks."

See, it is quieter already.

I agree, but it is a futile battle.

When I perceive that somebody is going to try to walk through or over me, I stand still and let them find the path that will take them where they want to go without touching me.

HTTY

Aduchamp, why don't you tell the city's lawmakers that honking is perfectly ok and those signs stating it is a $350 fine to honk should be taken down.
Having lived in both Boston and also Arizona, I agree that these two locales qualify for the worst too.
I suppose some Arizonan will now call me a baby for not wanting to go 80 on its suburban roads.

Aduchamp, why don't you tell the city's lawmakers that honking is perfectly ok and those signs stating it is a $350 fine to honk should be taken down.
_________
They are working on outlawing the perp walk this week.

:-)

You will be happy to know that I wrote Dick Wolfe, the famous TV producer, and suggested a new series-Law and Order: HOR-NY.

Do not leave your kids unattended at parks. A lady from Estonia got arrested when she left her kid in the playground and went to buy cigarettes.
Do not enter Macy's and stop and stare. There is a crowd trying to get in.
NYC buses do not accept paper money. Do not offer cash to the bus drivers.
Ladies from Europe, Brazil, Africa, everyone knows you could be topless on the beaches and parks in your country, it's not ok to do so in America. Please do wear bras when walking down the street, or if you prefer not to, do not wear
see-thru blouses/tops.
Also, ladies, do not wear those over-sized sunglasses which make you look like some celeb.

I tried to find the study I referenced above. No luck yet, but here's an interesting read -

http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/...rns-bother-me/

Ladies from Europe, Brazil, Africa,you dont have to listen to pomah

yes, they do as they cause drivers to slow down and stare, and even car accidents.

I read the article that Starr referenced. It was from Orlando, a city which relies on creating the falsest of realities as its main source of income. Where Mexico is next to Japan in EPCOT and children flock to a four fingered rodent and college students dressed as dwarfs swelter in the Florida heat and humidy all in the name of profit. Yes, I can understand the foundation for his point of view.

Aduchamp1, you might try to learn and practice the Serenity Prayer.

I disagree with POMAH's advice to the bra-less wonders, but if women decide to follow that advice that they not start wearing a bra without a top. Sue Ellen Mischke did that causing Cramer to crash George's car.

or just try saying "serenity now"

<<So safety is not a concern but honking is. HONKING! Well let's lower the amount of hinking and increase the deaths so we are more in keeping with national statistics.>>

Adu - honking for safety reasons or warning of danger is what is permissible under law. And one should honk to warn a driver or pedestrian of danger. But that is not the problem re honking in NY. Taxi drivers are the worst offenders honking at anything that appears to hold them up for 2 seconds. A common misuse of the horn: Car at a corner is about to make a right turn but is waiting at the corner, the reason he is waiting is that there are pedestrians crossing in front of him. Nevertheless - car behind incessantly honks. What would he like the other driver to do? Hit a couple of pedestrians so he can move ahead?

There are so many problems with pedestrians that honking is the least of which, especially among cabs. Namely rolling to within inches of a pedestrians as cabbies make their turns or timing their turns so they just pass pedestrians as they turn.