Paul's Journal

05/20/2008 17:21 #44401

Seriously Father Armand
Category: linwood

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 - 05/20/08 22:20
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 - 05/20/08 20:36
so did you reply to him yet?

zobar - 05/20/08 20:23
[oh sorry i skipped past the narrative right to the juicy parts]

- Z

zobar - 05/20/08 20:22
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 - 05/20/08 18:39
always the race card, gotta love it

metalpeter - 05/20/08 18:29
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 - 05/20/08 17:42
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 - 05/20/08 17:31
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.

05/18/2008 11:33 #44384

Response to the Church of the Ascension
Category: 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 - 05/20/08 19:45
hehe... god-fear atheist.
that's a good one.

paul - 05/20/08 16:53
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 - 05/20/08 13:30
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 - 05/20/08 13:14
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 - 05/18/08 23:03
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 - 05/18/08 21:46
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 - 05/18/08 19:05
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 - 05/18/08 15:59
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 - 05/18/08 14:11
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

05/18/2008 10:16 #44381

The Church of the Ascension's Response
Category: church of the ascension

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

james - 05/18/08 17:50
I vote for a low caliber rifle aimed at their tires.

hodown - 05/18/08 11:00
I vote for the rope solution.

mike - 05/18/08 10:27
maybe the sign will help. Wait and see.

05/18/2008 00:51 #44379

Tuesday Morning, Beer and Fridge
Category: shopping

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?

james - 05/18/08 22:34
The first time I saw Clamato I thought it said CamelToe.

With beer, I imagine the two taste the same.

jenks - 05/18/08 14:46
wow. I thought clamato itself was nasty, now mixed with beer??? ew.

hodown - 05/18/08 11:03
That Bud/Clamato is similar to a michelada style beer. It's more of a Latino drink, I've seen it here.

mike - 05/18/08 10:27
i love tuesday mornings! it is amazing for lots of random home stuff which you know I totally need and buy by the bagful!

05/17/2008 16:11 #44377

Dear Church of the Ascension
Category: 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

hodown - 05/17/08 21:33
I agree with Mike if they are assholes the only way to win is to be a bigger asshole. Use rope, create a problem.

paul - 05/17/08 17:25
A rope wouldn't help now because the main problem is people double parking across the driveway in the street which is simply illegal. You can see what I mean in the diagram.

springfaerie - 05/17/08 16:55
Paul, I should address a second letter to the vestry of the church. In the Episcopal church, the vestry is the governing body and make most of the decision regarding the church. I don't know any of the people at Ascension, but as a former vestry member of St. Paul's Cathedral, I know that it would be a good idea to write to the vestry, too. Just a suggestion. Hope it helps and that it works out!

mike - 05/17/08 16:52
perhaps it is time to rope it off on your side