Since we've already been blessed/damned by 56 inches of snow this winter (and it's not even February yet), we must continue our question about whether parking dibs—as in claiming a parking space on a public street that you've shoveled out for your car—are acceptable. While most of our readers think parking dibs are a joke, they clearly don't live in the heart of Parking Dibs land, Middle Village, Queens. After the Daily News found passionate parking dibs supporters there, WCBS 2 sent reporter John Slattery to the belly of the beast... and he found trash cans, traffic cones, and chairs reserving spaces.
One resident seemed forgiving, “In a way you can’t blame ‘em. They shovel it and when they get home they want a spot. You can’t blame them," but he added, "Personally, I don’t do that." But another who does said, "You put two garbage cans out in front of your house and you hope for the best. You hope nobody moves them.... There are people who don’t and that’s where you get problem. Cops come. I’ve seen it. It’s not nice, you know.”
Dibs are a huge issue in Chicago. So huge that a group called Chair Free Chicago was launched in order to rid the city of dibs. Copy from one of its ads: "Yes, you shoveled out your parking space after the last snow storm. La-di-friggin'-da. That doesn't mean the space is permanently yours, asshat. You want to shovel the whole street? THEN we can save you a spot."
