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True Tales From Parks and Recreation - Public Bait and Switch?


Note: I work for a park slowly in continuing development in Manhattan that is five miles along the waterfront of the Hudson River. As a Public Programs Coordinator, yours truly handles anything public related in regards to permitting (athletic facilities, film shoots, photo shoots, weddings, and other small gatherings), and of course, dealing with any questions or inquiries from the public. The following series will present stories, e-mails, phone calls, conversations, interactions, and sights I've seen from the people of New York City in regards to a public park. And yes, these are all real! And are all true!

Welcome to another little snippet of Parks and Recreation.

Sometimes the questions I receive aren't lengthy, or full of long winded fluff from the person asking the question. There are times the question, whether be via e-mail, phone call, if I'm out in the park, or even if I'm out in the city wearing my credentials, and someone wanted to fire one off, can sometimes be very simple, yet effective enough to cause you to wonder about the public that we serve. And yes, even wonder to yourself if you are the last of a dying breed of normalcy. 

The following True Tale is an e-mail I received from a person who was "interested in some of the summer concerts planned for the summer in the park and wanted to inquire about parking in the area, and in the park." Yes, that very line was all in the subject line of the e-mail. As for the body of the e-mail and her question, it's a very short one. But it does not lack in the head scratching department.

"Is the public parking lot available to the public?"

You just have to wonder...
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