"So much for the parking guard" written by Paul on estrip.org

05/21/08 11:28 - 46ºF - ID#44415

So much for the parking guard

After all the drama with the driveway and the parking situation, some parked in our driveway again. There was no one monitoring the situation like they promised. The woman got out of her car and went into the church for about 10 minutes before coming out and driving away.

Its so frustrating because I really do not know what to do anymore. Imagine if you neighbor just started having guests over that parked in your driveway all the time. This woman wasn't even hovering, she just parked and got out.

metalpeter writes at 06:21:36 05/23/08 - Comment #35399: (e:matt)

You mentioned one thing that I didn't think about bur it really is true. That is the safety issue. I think the policy that the parent (or who ever drops off and picks up) needs to come to the door to get the kid and drop them off. The example you gave is a perfect example of why that is a good idea. Lets face it kids get snatched up everyday in this country . what if you guys were not home then or what if the kid would have went to a house of someone who has a thing for kids it could have been a lot worse. Not only that but what if there is a parental dispute and the parent who isn't supposed to have the kid that day gets there first and the kid doesn't think anything of it and just hopes in the car. Maybe presenting the church with the fact that what they are not doing isn't safe might be a good idea, even if it doesn't help with the drive way and the traffic problems (and it could help you guys also). In terms of the term Fagot try not to let in bother you to much. If they know you are gay and say it that is one thing. But often "Us stights" use that term as a way of putting someone down when we assume someone isn't because to someone who isn't it is a big insult. I myself think there is nothing wrong with being gay but if some else does to call them that really gets them upset. I don't really have any other advise for you guys but I do wish you luck in finding a way to solve this with out fist fights.

matthew writes at 10:26:14 05/22/08 - Comment #35384: Okay, I'll admit the "Walgreen's" example didn't make much sense. My real point should have been that there is much more to this situation than just "i don't want you in my driveway". Much more than a sign or a fence will solve.

I've been trying to have a good neighborly relationship with the church from the beginning. We understood it takes a lot of patience living next to a large organization like the church. especially one with no parking. So I've felt in the last two years living at 24 Linwood that keeping an open conversation with the church "leaders" was best. I've talked many times with the grounds keeper about not just this problem but all the problems concerning us and the church. He told me he'd continue to talk with father Armand. So when the father's latest response to paul was that we are trying to make this a "racial situation" based on paul's (e:strip) journals, i was beyond personally offended. You need to know someone pretty god damn well before you accuse them of being a racist. After that, I truly hoped the church would find a solution to their problem on their own. They didn't.

i have a lot of experience in large children's organizations that require a parent drop off -pick up situation like the Chruch's Dance Camp needs. i worked at the JCC just down the street that had this exact problem. So i can see the problem from both points of view. The difference here is A. the JCC had actual parking, and B. The JCC had a policy that the parents must walk their children to the door. This is such a reasonable idea for an urban children's program! The church's dance camps current policy seems to be - stop in the street at the busy intersection of North and Linwood ave (or the private driveway at neighboring 24 Linwood)with your flashers on (while traffic piles up behing you) and let you kid jump out of the car and run to the church's door about 80 feet away. Sometime up to 50 families on a weekend. Anyone besides me see a lot of problems with this? Not just trespassing but safety. One time last year a parent belonging to the dance camp let their 5 or 6 year old out at the street and pulled away before their child got to the door. It turned out that there was NO dance Camp on this particular day. So who has to deal with the crying 5 year old who is scarred and wants their mommy?? answer is... Me and my friend holly, who found the right phone numbers, where able to contact the church who then contacted the dance camp to deal with their problem a few hours later.

If you have no parking maybe you should work with the city of Buffalo and declare you need a designated street spot marked by signs as a drop-off children's zone. or maybe the church should seek tenants other than the dance camp. One , maybe, that doesn't need parking that the church doesn't have. Like the AA meetings. Or maybe the church can put in their own driveway with their own entrance. What crazy solutions, i know. Instead, i'm told there is nothing the church can do and to call the police if the problem continues. Hmmm, looking back maybe i should have just called the cops on that 5 year old and let them deal with it. That's the churches current answer, right? JUST TALK TO THE FREAKIN" PARENTS YOURSELF! Don't they want a safe solution as well? gosh.

I'd also like to point out that this is not just 24 Linwood's complaint. I've talked with the other neighbors on my block and many of them agree or have their own set of problems with the traffic vioalations the church creates. (also the litter problem, but that's a whole other story.) I'm thinking i should write a formal letter of complaint and have the agreeing residents sign it and send it directly to city hall. If the church won't listen to us we'll step above them.

I don't know. I really think there are reasonable solutions that will make all party's happy. But the church really hasn't been helpful.

Finally, I'm tired of being called "faggot" when i ask the people not to park in the driveway. "You better watch you're back" and "we obviously know where you live" are some of my other favorite threats. I don't want these people to become my enemies. I don't deserve harassment for having a private driveway that happens to be next to the church. Maybe I'll just continue to turn my back, close my ears, and water my lawn and trust that the church has the neighborhoods best interest in mind with their dance camp drop off pick up policy in my driveway. BLAH!

i have so much more to say, maybe i'll bring this topic to my own journal. Thanks for listening.

drew writes at 08:49:53 05/22/08 - Comment #35381: yeah. I know you shouldn't have to come up with solutions, but it has been fun.

Anyway, they will regret telling you to take matters in your own hands if you bring a lawsuit against the church.

And I promise, that is the last solution I will offer.

metalpeter writes at 07:58:07 05/22/08 - Comment #35380: Hi Matt

First of all sorry about all the problems with the parking there. I think that since it is a church they should tell the people not to park in or blocking the driveway. That being said I will use walgreens as an example. If people at the lenox or that other hotel were to park at walgreens then walgreens would have to call the tow trucks themselves and would have to be the ones to go out and tell people to leave. Yes I would agree that those two places should explain if we are out of spots and you go to walgreens to park they will tow your car. I think the real problem is that the people (or some of them) who park in your driveway or who block it will continue to do so. They are not willing to take the extra time to find a real spot when they can just run in real quickly.

This is one of those tricky spots where what one should do is not what one is responsible for. I think the church should tell people not to park there. But really it is your property all they can really do is call the cops if they see something. Or do what ever they can so people know the driveway isn't theres. But again since it is your property they can't really do much. But the flip side to that is I'm sure the church could do a lot more then what they are doing by saying listen if you don't follow parking laws we don't want you here. But I'm sure they would rather have the people mad at you then at the church, they don't want to lose any Business.

I'm sorry you guys are still dealing with this, you shouldn't have to. Maybe the class will end soon and the issue will go away for sometime, I wish you luck.

matthew writes at 07:43:10 05/22/08 - Comment #35379: "private drive" not private job. sorry fot the typo

matthew writes at 07:35:37 05/22/08 - Comment #35377: I live at 24 Linwood also. All of the comments on this journal are great ideas and suggestions. Thanks guys. But the underlining issue here is not that we don't know what to do about the people parking in and blocking our driveway, it's that it should be the chruch of th ascension's responsibility to deal with the problem.

They Do understand the problem (or at least we've made it pretty clear to them that there IS a problem and, as (e:paul)'s journal shows, given them reports and photos) and yet they haven't taken any actions to alleviate the problem. They have instead basically told us to deal with it our selves. Washing their hands clean of the situation. We were told by the church to "call the cops" if it happens again. Why can't the church make it clear to their own customers that 24 Linwood's private driveway is NOT for their use BEFORE we are forced to call the cops? Let the angry drivers be angry with the church, not us. Why not let the church call the cops on their customers who are breaking the law?

If we lived next to a Walgreen's whose costumers kept parking on our private land, shouldn't any signs or fences keeping customers out be placed on the Walgreen's parking lot, and put there by Walgreen's themselves? (sorry Walgreen's, don't mean to drag you into the middle of this.) I feel the church, as the landlords, should take responsibility. I have a bunch of ideas on how the problem can be solved, but the church hasn't showed us that they are really interested or even listening to our complaints. I've talked personally with the Head of the dance camp whose parents are the the repeat parking offenders, I've talked to father Armand of the church of the ascension, and I've talked to the women who represent the church at the Linwood preservations block club meaning about the problem. I have even talked to the people who park in my driveway themselves, and i won't begin to list the derogatory names I've been called and the threats I've been given for politely asking someone to "please not park here, it's a private job." I'm sick of dealing with it myself without the church's help. I really have to say that I'm extremely surprised and disappointed by the lack of maturity on the churches part in dealing with their neighborhood.

Sorry, just wanted to get this off my chest. Thanks

mike writes at 06:54:54 05/22/08 - Comment #35376: really i think a lot of people may not know. not the repeat offenders but a lot of people prolly do not know they cannot park there. Can't you put a sign on your garage that says no parking in front of here. That can't be against the preservation thing cuz your garage door is already there.

uncutsaniflush writes at 05:01:08 05/22/08 - Comment #35371: They say that fences make good neighbors; you could put up a fence with a gate to prevent people from using your driveway. Assuming, of course, this would be legal in a preservation district.

One of the less permanent things you could do is use orange traffic cones and/or construction type barricades :::link:::
or :::link:::
along with a no parking private parking sign.

Not particularly elegant but effective.

drew writes at 01:26:22 05/22/08 - Comment #35359: This is mean to the kids, and possibly illegal, but it would work and be funny.

Do you still have that box of porn from the church trash cans? Tape the most offensive stuff to each car that parks in your driveway.

chico writes at 01:10:17 05/22/08 - Comment #35358: What about printing up a notice that says something like,

YOUR VEHICLE IS PARKED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. PARKING A VEHICLE HERE CONSTITUTES TRESPASSING.

TRESPASSING IS ILLEGAL.

YOUR VEHICLE'S LICENSE PLATE NUMBER HAS BEEN RECORDED. FUTURE VIOLATIONS WILL BE REPORTED TO THE POLICE.

Leave a blank spot for the date and time; when someone parks in your driveway and you see the car there, fill in the date and time, and place the "ticket" on the windshield of the car.

Write down the license plate number on a list, along with make and model for future reference.

ajay writes at 12:26:58 05/22/08 - Comment #35354: Print out some "parking tickets" and put them on the windshields of the perps.
Charge them $50 for parking there.

Maybe you can make some money out of this thing.

ps: I'll only charge you 10% commission for this advice.

On a more serious note: you could just print out "No loitering: Private Property" signs and put them in a visible place.

paul writes at 12:24:32 05/22/08 - Comment #35352: We are limited as to what we can do because it is a preservation district. We are not allow to have big signs/banners. I am thinking a video surveillance system that just takes pictures of all the cars that go in and out and posts it to a blog so I can create a giant evidence trails of all the trespassing. Followed by one of the one way tire spike things. But damn they cost like $500 and people will surely retaliate.

fing writes at 12:14:46 05/22/08 - Comment #35350: Do these people really think that maybe this is part of the church? I would post a sign saying private property. You could also put Video Surveillance in use or something similar. They don't know if any one is really watching. Perhaps a banner that stretches the width of the driveway but up high so you can still park.

jason writes at 12:14:30 05/22/08 - Comment #35349: I think a human being sitting out there with a shotgun would be a pretty good deterrent.

fellyconnelly writes at 11:34:24 05/22/08 - Comment #35347: whenever somebody comes and parks in your driveway, move your car and block them in!
THEN call the police.

hodown writes at 10:00:01 05/22/08 - Comment #35338: I say nails in the drive way.

kara writes at 08:19:33 05/22/08 - Comment #35334: Have you thought about posting a sign warning people that you're taking down their license plate numbers or something?

What about putting some (heavy, weighted with stones) garbage cans in the driveway?

Inconsiderate people like that are one of the reasons we've moved out of the city. best of luck to you.

paul writes at 12:12:12 05/22/08 - Comment #35330: Ya, the problem is the people know where we live. So if we do something like spike strip, baracade, call the police they are just going to retaliate.

james writes at 12:09:25 05/22/08 - Comment #35329: Could you make a barricade of some sort? One that would block the person from leaving while the cops arrived?

Permalink: So_much_for_the_parking_guard.html
Words: 93
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: movies

05/21/08 11:04 - 46ºF - ID#44413

Death Note

I went to go see Death Note with (e:imk2), (e:metalpeter), (e:jenks), (e:tibruon1724), dan, and faben. It was pretty great. Poor (e:enknot) - he missed it but he would have freakin loved it. I think it is the first time I have ever been to a movie with such a jazzed up fan base.

The storyline was pretty good. It was like a live action. I would suggest seeing it tomorrow if you can.

Wikipedia link:

Anime Site:

Live Action Movie:

There is a sequel coming out and there is even a prequel about L who was by far the hotest of the main characters:

Permalink: Death_Note.html
Words: 136
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: work

05/21/08 11:14 - 42ºF - ID#44407

Four months of freetime

What is the dollar value of four months of freetime? This is the question I keep asking myself for the last hour.

Permalink: Four_months_of_freetime.html
Words: 22
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: linwood

05/20/08 10:19 - 49ºF - ID#44404

The Block Club Meeting at the Church

First of all I would like to mention that I love the block club president. I would vote for him for president of the USA in a heartbeat. He just seems so honest, driven, dedicated and organized.

There was talk about surface parking vs preservation, actually not about our situation but about the JCC that wants to expand their surface parking. The block club president suggested they add pick up and drop off zone instead.

Possible Solutions
I was thinking that might be a solution for the church next door. What if they had the 3-4 parking spots in front of the church on Linwood converted into 5-10 minute drop off zone during certain hours. Also, maybe we can fight to get rid of the only single sided parking after 6 or at least extend double sided parking to 9PM so that more people can park during "business hours." Its not like it is a narrow street.

Talking with the church people
We talked to some of the ladies we know from the church and they seemed to understand our situation. I really like them. The one woman said she spoke to Father Armand and tried to explain how we have to deal with it all the time and the people give us trouble and that he doesn't see it all the time.

Either way, someone must have said something because it was totally in order today. People parked and walked their kids to the door. I hope it stays that way.

I still can't believe Father Armand tried to make it a race thing when it is obviously about cars. It makes me wonder what else he blames on other things in his life.

(e:matthew) and the grounds guy
Before the meeting (e:matthew) had a talk with the grounds guy that led us to believe that he and Father A also misunderstood our property line . 10.2 feet of the driveway is ours and 3.5 feet is theirs according to our property map, you can see below. You cannot possibly park anything on 3.5 feet and the preservation district won't let them build more surface parking which leads to the issue they are having.

Maybe the misunderstand comes from an agreement with the original purchasers of the house from the church to share the driveway as part of purchasing the property from the church. According to our contract, those terms did not transfer to us. Specifically worded, "this reservation of rights shall not be covenant that runs with the land and does not bind all successors, heirs or assigns of grantee."

I hope it works out between us and by that I mean, we don't have problems with people blocking or parking in our driveway, they find out some parking solution for them, we are on speaking terms with all the church people. Although, honestly, at this point I could care less if I ever saw Father Armand again after this.

Permalink: The_Block_Club_Meeting_at_the_Church.html
Words: 496
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: linwood

05/20/08 05:21 - 58ºF - ID#44401

Seriously Father Armand

I don't think we can ever live amicably with one another now that you suggested this is purely a matter of racism. You might as well pretend I am just singling you out because you are gay, lol. It shows me how out of touch you are with the whole situation. The only reasons I single out the dance camp instead of the other groups is that:

1. No other group has ever given me attitude about moving their cars.
2. No other group consists of 50 or more people that drop off and pick up people for hours at a time.

Dear Paul,

Please believe me that I am upset over the difficulties we are having as neighbors. We are trying our best to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement between all of us.

The simple answer to your question of your last e-mail is yes, you need to call the police whenever anyone blocks the driveway. Perhaps even better would be to have a police officer here when you believe the situation is at its worst. They will be able to immediately cite those who are blocking the driveway. We will share the cost with you of having a police officer here to evaluate the situation.

As I mentioned in my last e-mail, Karen has hired a traffic guard for the pick up time, but I believe having a police officer there would do a lot to quell the situation, along with our long overdue sign.

You must have been aware when you purchased 24 Linwood that there were activities going on at the church. If not, that is the fault of your real estate attorney. The Dance Camp has been here many years and we are not in a position to ask them to leave. I am also aware that your anger is directed at an African American group, which has given me cause for concern.

I have alerted the Chancellor of the Diocese of Western New York about our situation. He will be monitoring the situation and give us advice as needed.

Again Paul, I truly hope (and pray) that we can work this out and we will be able to reside amicably with one another.

P.S. I have also alerted the commander of the star ship enterprise in the delta quadrant. He will be giving us advice as well.

paul writes at 10:20:46 05/20/08 - Comment #35289: I wrote the newest journal (e:paul,44404) after this but I didn't reply as I am done talking with him directly after that last email.

imk2 writes at 08:36:22 05/20/08 - Comment #35286: so did you reply to him yet?

zobar writes at 08:23:59 05/20/08 - Comment #35285: [oh sorry i skipped past the narrative right to the juicy parts]

- Z

zobar writes at 08:22:44 05/20/08 - Comment #35284: I live across the street from an expensive private high school and I have to say it's not noticeably less aggravating or illegal to be blocked out of your driveway by self-entitled white people than it is to be blocked out of your driveway by self-entitled black people. Fortunately for us [sort of], their comings and goings [usually] don't coincide with ours so we don't [often] have to throw down.

Is it that only the dance camp people block your driveway? or is it just that that's who's blocking your driveway when you need to use it?

- Z

tiburon1724 writes at 06:39:11 05/20/08 - Comment #35272: always the race card, gotta love it

metalpeter writes at 06:29:11 05/20/08 - Comment #35270: Just to give a different perspective. If I had a place and leased it out to someone else who had a class there and there where problems with the street, I wouldn't do anything, not because I'm mean but it is a public street I have no control over it. What parents should do is park and walk there kids there or they should do the same thing when they pick them up. I would tell the dance people to tell the parents that. But other then that it is a parking issue that needs to be taken up with the police and the meter people. I would let you know that if anyone parks in your drive way or in the way of it to call cops and have it towed. The Parents are the problem and by the time it goes from you to the church to the class to the parents the message won't mean anything or it might sound different. I don't drive but one thing I have learned from watching someone I know is that yelling from a car doesn't do anything except cause more yelling and maybe a fist fight.

So I say try to get any car that does anything illegal ticketed. It is to bad you can't put something you own in front of your drive way so that it isn't blocked by a car cause it can't block it and you just have to move that small thing out of the way.

I do have one other idea. You should have other people on linwood who see a double parking or driveway blocked to call the cops if they see it. Once two people get a nice ticket they will start parking someplace.

paul writes at 05:42:35 05/20/08 - Comment #35265: I did point that out. He was obviously lying. On a positive note, there was no one blocking the driveway when I came home today.

imk2 writes at 05:31:39 05/20/08 - Comment #35264: ok, you need to point out to him that he said himself that he would need to kick them out if the situation didnt get better in his first email.

Permalink: Seriously_Father_Armand.html
Words: 393
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: church of the ascension

05/18/08 11:33 - 51ºF - ID#44384

Response to the Church of the Ascension

I wrote back to the priest about his last response (e:paul,44381) to my email (e:paul,44377)

Armand,
I am not asking you to police the public street. I am asking you to get rid of the tenants whose clients cannot abide by the law - after months of being told what to do - and who require a significant amount more infrastructure that you can offer. It has gotten so much worse now that they can't park in the driveway, they just park across it or double park which is illegal.

You are right I should call the police. But seriously, do I have to call the police every day to get in my own driveway. That is ridiculous. The only reason these people are here is because you are making money off of it.

As you said in your Feb 29th email:

"If the situation does not improve within a reasonable time, we may be forced to ask the Dance Camp to find another place to teach. We at Ascension are dedicated to this neighborhood, so rest assured, we will stand up for your side on this."

What is reasonable time? It has been over 2 months and the situation has not changed in fact it has gotten worse.

The real problem is that no matter how much the dance camp tells all the parents, often the children are picked up by friends/grandparents/etc who are not aware of the rules. I think you just don't undertsant the volume of the situation. Try visiting the church around 5PM when they drop-off/pick up or on a saturday afternoon.

This is not a once in a while, one car thing. It is an every day thing involving many, many cars. It is an everyday issue that I have to fight to get in/out my own driveway and none of these people would be here without the dance camp.

You also said that you had ordered a sign on in your April 9th email:

"Yesterday we ordered a "sandwich" board that she will put in the driveway every day. It reads NO PARKING OR DROP OFF IN DRIVEWAY, THIS IS A PRIVATE SPACE AND YOU WILL BE TOWED."

I have to ask how it is possible that a simple sign, ordered April 8th is not finished by May 18th, over 2 months later. And honestly, where is this sign even going to go? On the back of a truck at the end of the driveway?

As another example , the other day a man in a red car, who's license plate I could not capture from the in the house, sped up our driveway at like 20 miles per hour all the ay up to in front of our garage.

The older lady security guard asked him not to park there because it was not their property and then he yelled out the window, "I am not parking, just dropping them off real quick" and she said, "okay." This is never ok.

However, I can't blame her because what is she supposed to do? She has no way of enforcing the rules and I don't think there even is a way to enforce the rules. I know how rude and angry the people can get and she is just one, very nice older lady policing the situation.

Really, the answer is not hosting something that you do not have the infrastructure to support.

As I said before, the other groups using the church do not make this an issue at all.

Paul

jenks writes at 07:45:23 05/20/08 - Comment #35281: hehe... god-fear atheist.
that's a good one.

paul writes at 04:53:59 05/20/08 - Comment #35260: Okay allenguy - fuck you. Who rents out a third floor without fire escapes and who mentioned anything about needing rental income? If you think it is us you are wrong, we have a single family home and no one lives on the third floor. And who said this has anything to do with religion?

How many times do I have to say it? The church people are not the problem. The dance camp instructors are not the problem. It is the parents who don't really have a stake in the issue that are a problem. People should never park across your driveway. It is just illegal. Try fighting for 20 minutes to get in your driveway a couple times or be late for work because you can't get out of your driveway and see how that feels.

jason writes at 01:30:38 05/20/08 - Comment #35255: You don't need to be especially literate to understand that (e:Paul)'s problem isn't the fact that he is next to a church, so it wasn't very clever to have said that.

I don't even really expect that a fence would do the trick, if he were to go that route. Assholes will be assholes, and they'll still do what is convenient because they don't know any better. People will still park in, or block off, his drive, which in every circumstance is totally unacceptable.

Why do you think you have the right to obstruct someone's driveway, or worse yet, use that person's driveway?

allenguy writes at 01:14:13 05/20/08 - Comment #35253: I think that someone who rents out apartments illegally (such as a lack of third story fire escapes or lack of hard-wire smoke detector systems) should be the last one to complain about needing rental incomes.

Linwood is a Preservation District. You can't just build a parking lot, just like you can't put up a fence along a drive (hint hint) without it first going to the Preservation Board and getting their thumbs up or down, you think someone who live with "e-strip" stuff all over their car would know a thing or two about the neighborhood.

Plus - how can they not be neighborly, they offer the block club a place to meet!

Perhaps a God fearing atheist should not have purchase property next to a church, let alone their old rectory!

kookcity2000 writes at 11:03:35 05/18/08 - Comment #35217: it was nice that the priest got back to you quickly, but his response left some things to be desired.
You should continue to push back because A] we can assume the church really needs the rent income from this dance camp, B] the dance camp is probably getting a good deal at the church, compared to a commercial space and C] your complaint is quite legitimate and you have been patient and willing to work with the church thus far.

someone pointed out that you should contact the Vestry and I second that.
I couldn't find an email online but I could find some names you can look up in the phone book.
Try calling members Dennis Byczynski, John Lauer, Ruth Twidle, John Yeager or Shirley Yeage and ask to be given time at a monthly Vestry meeting. At the very least it would show due diligence on your part in trying to work with the church.

tinypliny writes at 09:46:45 05/18/08 - Comment #35209: Wow. I missed all this. What an annoying mess!!

I think putting up a sign (no matter how ad-hoc) across your driveway should deter at least some people. Driving over signs is not everyone's forte. Unless of course it is someone who can "slap the shit out" of people. :/

ajay writes at 07:05:23 05/18/08 - Comment #35202: Might I suggest a home-made spike strip, judiciously placed in your driveway?
Just get a 2x4 from the Home Depot, hammer some 4" nails through it and paint it black.

zobar writes at 03:59:08 05/18/08 - Comment #35197: Ya this happens to us all the time too, since we live right across the street from St. Joe's. It's remarkable how rude God-fearing Christians can be when you mess with their parking.

I'm enough of a dick that if I were in the right mood, I'd let the air out of their tires while they were in it [or pretend to]. 'If you won't move the car yourself I'm sure I can get the police to tow it for you.'

I second (e:metalpeter) - put up a post at the end of the driveway right on the property line, just high enough & sturdy enough that you'd think twice about driving over it. Put a sign on it that says 'Private Drive.' It would be a lot cheaper than the other alternative, which would be to put a small, sturdy fence along the line.

- Z

metalpeter writes at 02:11:48 05/18/08 - Comment #35192: All that I can really suggest is 3 little things. One go to craft store or maybe a hardware store and make your own sign for now. Second Always have a camera someone double parks or blocks it or something take a picture of the plate and the car so you can see it is a violation if the camera has a way to show the date that would be a bonus two then call the cops say that they are blocking your driveway if they leave then you can show the pictures to the cops. I wonder if you printed those pictures and took them to the police station or to the people who drive around and give out tickets if they would ticket them based on the picture alone. It used to be if you took a picture of a dog shitting on the lawn and the person not cleaning it up they would be fined $50 of course you would have to know who that person is so they could be fined. I wish you luck in whatever happens

Permalink: Response_to_the_Church_of_the_Ascension.html
Words: 592
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 02/22/11 02:26

Category: church of the ascension

05/18/08 10:16 - 51ºF - ID#44381

The Church of the Ascension's Response

So the priest responded to say they are doing their best and that is all they can do and that I should call the police. How about the fact they are only there because you are running a money making business renting space to them. If any other business on Linwood was doing the same thing it would be a huge deal. Imagine a doctors office with the same problem. In fact I am now going to have to make this a block club issue. If you don't have the infrastructure to handle he volume of people then don't run a business that requires that volume.

Dear Paul,
We have control only over the driveway itself. We cannot police the public street. The Dance Camp has hired a security guard for their closing times when parents are picking up their children.

If someone is blocking the entrance to our driveway, we call the police. Alas, for the Buffalo police it is a low priority and by the time they've arrived, usually the perpetrator is gone.

I feel the Dance Camp is being accommodating to the neighborhood and in this case, hiring a guard. The AA groups are on notice about their noise level, parking and trashing our lawn.

I'm sorry that things have escalated to the point when people begin to swear at one another. Obviously it's at a boiling point for both you and the Dance Camp.

Let's see what the security guard can do. Karen has written to all the parents, who have done their best. It's usually when a non-parent relative who is not aware of the driveway situation comes to pick up a child. As I mentioned before there is a sign being made that states: DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY. No stopping or drop off. It has not yet come back from the printers but when it does, we'll install it down by the sidewalk.

Plans have been talked about even before I arrived about putting in a parking lot on North Street. while this is a viable option, at this point we don't have any money for it... but it's still an open option.

Armand

Permalink: The_Church_of_the_Ascension_s_Response.html
Words: 362
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 02/22/11 02:27

Category: shopping

05/18/08 12:51 - 51ºF - ID#44379

Tuesday Morning, Beer and Fridge

Tueday Morning
My mother is constantly raving about this store called Tuesday Morning

over on Sheridan past Niagara Falls Blvd . They had so many awesome deals. I found this great microwavable, reusable gel heatpad that seriously has no smell at all. It is made of some amazing non-toxic gel and works so good. I am using it right now. They also have them on amazon

but for some reason only in 2 packs. They are made in Canada. I would suggest it to anyone as a great, safe alternative to an electric heating pad.

They also had a lot of strange home deco stuff. Like what the heck is this? I referred to it a the conchgina, which leads me to my next consumer discovery of the day. I feel bad highlighting the ridiculous conchgina when there was so much cool houseware and gardenware but it is just so photo-worthy. I would definately suggest checking the store out.

Clamato and Budweiser In One Can
We took a stroll over to Forest Lawn to see (e:matthew)'s families plot and on the way back we stopped at the gas station on the corner of Delaware and West Delevan. In the beer section they had this really nasty drink - and to think I like clams and beer. Who is their target market on this one. The clam and tomato juice folk or the budweiser in a can folk. They seem like such different audiences.

I like Frank Lloyd Wright's work but the new monument is just down right fugly.

refrigerator
Before all that we went refrigerator shopping. For those of you have not seen our mid 80s refrigerator with the broken off door handle that doesn't close - you know why we need a new one. After throwing out a lot of freezer burned crap from the door being opened for hours and thawing and then freezing over and over, I now want one with a door alarm. I think it will save lots of money. I also can't believe how efficient refrigerators are now.

I want this one, The Jenn Air JSD2695KES

. The issue is that Orvilles

and Home Depot

both have it for $2099 but us-appliance.com has it for $1859 plus free shipping and seems to be pretty reputable. I am curious if Orvilles will match that. At Home depot it comes with a $200 gift card for Home Depot but it has like a $60 shipping charge. Anyone have experience with matching at Home Depot or Orvilles?

What's super crazy is that the 3D model is downloadable for use with Google sketchup

What could make planning a kitchen easier?

Permalink: Tuesday_Morning_Beer_and_Fridge.html
Words: 507
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: church of the ascension

05/17/08 04:11 - 56ºF - ID#44377

Dear Church of the Ascension

I seriously, cannot believe today's driveway issue. Its so sad because I like the idea of the dance camp and the people that run it, but the parents/grandparents/guardians that don't follow parking rules and laws make me insane.

Today this one woman was double parked completely across our driveway with her car off. When we came home from the grocery store, the following situation occurred as you can read in my letter to the Priest of the church.

This diagram helps with the letter below.

Father Armand,
The driveway situation is really not any better.

I feel bad about the situation because the dance camp tappyK and the other older lady who works there are so respectful of the driveway and nice and I like the idea of their dance camp. It is not them I have a problem with. It is some of the parents. They seem to try really hard.

I just had an incident in the driveway where we were coming back from grocery shopping and a woman was parked double parked in the street, completely across both sides of the driveway with the car off. Terry beeped like 5 times to try and get in the driveway and she would not move. At that point I got out of the car and asked her to move. She moved up like 2 feet and I assumed she was moving up more.

At that point I had gone in the house to open the backdoor to unload the groceries. When I came out she was still in the middle of the driveway and my temper got the best of me and I yelled, "What the fuck is going on here, get the hell out of my driveway." as I was really mad a the point and terry was blocking traffic all the way up to north.

Then she asked me who I was and what business it was of mine if she parked there. I said it was my driveway and that she was illegally parked and to move. Then she said she doesn't need to move because I cussed at her at that she was going to get out of the car and "slap the shit out of me." I then walked away to go take a picture of her license (attached) plate and matt asked her why she was at the church she refused to tell us.

Clearly your infrastructure cannot handle the traffic flow from this dance camp. You really need to consider building a true parking lot on the North St side of the church. I should not have to deal with this kind of drama every time I want to get back in my driveway. It is really embarrassing when I am bringing guests over, as happened the other day.

No matter what, THIS HAS GOT TO STOP. I don't care what the heck you have to do but if the dance camp parents continue to park in or across my driveway, I am going to continue to escalate the situation with them until one day someone like that large black woman "slaps the shit out of me." and then we will have a much more serious issue.

Paul Visco

Permalink: Dear_Church_of_the_Ascension.html
Words: 541
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 02/22/11 02:27

Category: music

05/16/08 01:18 - 57ºF - ID#44364

Outro by Blumchen

I really like this song. Okay no really I am just testing uploading this for (e:jenks) and (e:joshua) but I do like it. It was 1.8MB and in MP3 format. I am not sure about music uploads as I don't want to get sued.