He does not own the barren lot in Long Island City, but tends to it as if he does.The Unofficial Attendant of an Ad Hoc Parking Lot
Down the street, another private parking lot charged $12 for the day.
In the lot, under a billboard on the corner of Vernon Boulevard and Borden Avenue, Mr. Harte, 71, is home. The blocks around him are sprouting high-rise condominiums like trees. A bagel shop just opened a block away, opposite a crumbling wall with fading paint that reads Cangro Transmission Co. Inc., a testament to the neighborhood’s industrial past.
It is here, on a paved lot big enough for about eight vehicles and next to a construction site, that Mr. Harte squeezes out a meager livelihood. He said he saved a spot every morning for a construction manager who works nearby. In return, the manager has given him food, a few dollars and his business card. Mr. Harte said he hoped the man might even install electricity.
3 comments:
So symbolic of the brave new world of development.
A flood of new people into a community that dont give a f##k about the people already there (as they are speculators, transient, or view their home as merely a bedroom) while those who already live there are relegated to a cutesy sideshow.
Now I know how the native Americans felt 200 years ago.
why do you think new neighbors do not treat or care for their homes, their lifetime investments as you do...
why, because you bought your home decades ago when we were kids?
and this guy is a slideshow, have you seen the lot he runs?
no, because you new people look down on us, you think you are better than us in your overpriced particle board palaces.
Our two bit crooks that run this borough gave you our waterfront and used our taxes to set up your services.
Now you just want us to leave. Boy are you in for a big surprise.
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