If you are the person responsible for keeping a sidewalk clear of snow and ice, you can probably commiserate with the Q. This has been a bitch of a year to keep the stuff at bay. Now, I grew up in a much colder & snowier climate, and I don't find this winter to be particularly anything. And I don't have a car, so the endless scenes of drivers trying to dig out of useless street parking spots barely registers on my radar - such is the reality of free parking on the street. But the strange mix of precipitations and suddenly frigid temperatures has made it incredibly hard to shovel at exactly the right time to avoid freeze-over scenes like this on Woodruff, just outside the mysterious community garden just west of Ocean Ave:
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| pics by Elizabeth C |
Turns out it's the responsibility of the gardens' caretakers, a group identified by Community Board 14 as Woodruff Seniors. And who are they? We're investigating! (If you know, please post a comment or email the Q). I've talked here before about UMMA, the group Muslim-American neighborhood watch group responsible for creating the park (thank you Ed Powell!). But Woodruff Seniors? Granted you don't want to send gramps out there swinging and stabbing at the ice, BUT somebody's gotta do it. (Maybe grams? She always did the heavy lifting in the family anyway...)
We've all dealt with it...a barely passable sidewalk...and cursed the owners for their laziness. But there is basically NO ROCK SALT to be found in the stores, the stuff that magically melts the solid ice. For those like me who had to look it up, I'll save you the trouble and tell you that the salt creates saltwater on the surface of the ice, which freezes at a much lower temperature (seen a frozen ocean lately?).
Dang. Just as I was about to post this I see I better shovel again. Dang.
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