Parking Space Jockeys

I think I saw that guy working Adams Morgan the other night.

Wow, you sure use the term “entrepreneurial” very loosely. This must be sarcasm.

Please don’t promote them, we do not need more of these folks in PQ. If they do try and direct you to a parking space, try to avoid being guilted into forking over a tip, which will only provide them justification for and further incentive for their “work” (just hope your car doesn’t get kicked or keyed as a result).

BAD idea to pay these guys. I’ve encountered more than a few shouting matches in Adams Morgan between parkers and these guys when the jockeys don’t get what they think is their fair share. Avoid. It’s just squeegee men in a different guise and not a harbinger of good things to come to the neighborhood.

Are these the “Squeegee Men” of our time?

“parking jockeys” is such a pleasant euphemism. Call it what it is — aggressive panhandling. It’s not like these people are doing a public service. They expect to be compensated, and are often hostile if their efforts aren’t acknowledged.

If I ever gave them money, it wouldn’t be out of a sense of obligation–it would be out of fear that they’d key my car.

I don’t understand why the Downtown BID employees don’t do something about the parking jockeys. Isn’t that one of the reasons the BID was formed in the first place?

These parking guys are especially aggrivating. I’m out for a night and I need to park. I see a spot and some guy starts waving his arms as if he helped at all. That spot was there and you would have had to be blind to miss it.

They really are expecting that voice in the back in your head will say “well if I don’t pay him he’ll key my car.”

i remember someone here posted DC statutes that applied to aggressive panhandling . . . this parking jockeying was one of the activities that was outlawed. Can’t remember which post.

When I read this, I also was thinking “squeegee guys”. This “service” is such a nuisance, although I disagree that it’s only bound to increase. With all the new garages downtown, there’s really a ton of parking. Just expensive.

Cannot agree with other posters more. These are not parking jockeyes, they are parking blackmailers.

Could people not see the spot themselves or actually need help parallel parkig? NO, this is essentially an intimidation racket where people give them a couple dollars out of fear that their car will get keyed, tire slashed or a window broken.

I was hesitant to write the blog post because of the strong feelings residents have on homelessness in PQ. Especially with a discussion having just occurred last week on the blog. I figured I would since this is a slightly different aspect, if just as annoying/threatening to most of you.

Those of you who have a problem with the term “parking space jockey”: Please keep in mind this is just a post about a fact of life in downtown DC. It’s neither an argument for or against what the jockeys are doing. Just pointing out that they exist in the world, and there are likely to be more of them in the future. “Parking Space Jockey” seemed a reasonable name to give them, at least for this blog post.

These parking space guys are a major problem, bigger than most of you might think. Local business and government spends a lot of time and resources attracting people from suburbs and out-of-town to visit our neighborhood to eat, shop and enjoy our theaters. These guys are especially agressive. Our visitors are initimidated and some vow to never come back again. I think we should all complain to the police so this is stopped once and for all.

My biggest anoyance was in Adams Morgan a few years ago when one guy was bugging another parker up the block and I pulled into a space unaware of what was going on — then while walking down 18th St (away from commercial strip) I was threatened about the safety of my car. The joke was on him, because it was an old car and I wouldn’t have cared. The irony is that this occurred around the corner from my apartment and I felt a much stronger ‘ownership’ claim in my own neighborhood with a valid permit than this joker.

DC Gov won’t do anything about it.. Why should they ? They have bigger fish to fry right ?… For such a small area, there sure are ALOT of problems.

By and large, parking space jockies are as intimidating and agressive as you let them be. The best way to disarm their intimidation is to give them a verbal “thanks, man” and that is ALL after you park. In most of my experiences, that is enough for them too. The 1% who pester get a clarifying but stronger verbal statement (not threatening). If they threaten, tell them you’ll call the police (with meaning). I’ve never seen it go farther than that.

Now I know it may be different if you’re a gal or if you’re alone or if you aren’t a big person or if it’s dark out. No, you shouldn’t have to put up with this but then use that good sense your mama gave you.

The current economic reality is that people earn money jockeying spots and in large part it is because people succomb and give them the money. Why people feel compelled to earn money this way is for another post and can fill volumes. Is it an ideal economic reality? Nope. Does it need to be solved? Yep. Is it as pressing as other issues? Maybe.

I don’t know if the BID claims jursidiction or if the police can claim jurisdiction over this matter. I never saw this in Singapore, for example. But either way, it takes a village and like it or not you live in the village.

Also, please keep comments on target and non-threatening. We’ve already rejected a few and will continue to do so to preserve the integrity of this discussion.

All — Do NOT give them money!!!! I live in the neighborhood and watch these same guys and the pan handlers go buy drugs after they have finished getting money from the easy marks on 7th Street and by the Convention hotels. That is why they are aggressive. They need the money for their “fix” later.

Why does Columbo link this to “homelessness”? All of the problems in the city cannot be placed on the homeless!

If any of you bothered (including Columbo and the other writers) bothered to go to the local PSA 101 meetings you would learn that “car jockeying” is against the law and the MPD regularly issue citations to these guys. You would also learn that the MPD has asked that citizens report these activities by calling the non-emergency number 311.

A BID issue? The BID does not police the area. Some of you need to get more involved in your community and learn the functions of the various organizations and agencies.

Spend a little less time blogging and get out more. You might learn something.

Giving one of these people money just encourages them to do it more. DON’T DO IT!! This is not an issue of homelessness; this is an issue of theivery. The only reason that anyone gives these people money is that they are posing an – unspoken, at the least – threat against your safety and your property.

To equate this issue with homelessness is completely insulting to all of the non-threatening individuals that have found themselves in a terrible bind. Please don’t make this equation, and please do not think that you are doing anything helpful for the homeless population by encouraging this threatening behavior. It only breeds fear and resentment.

I happen to agree that this IS linked to homelessness — rather, it is linked to drugs. Homelessness, crime and this type of activity are linked to drugs downtown. I understand there may be a rare exception, but the bulk of the people we see every day downtown hanging around and causing trouble or panhandling have drug problems and that is where the money ends up.

Why are the blog authors so insistent on glamorizing the homeless, panhandlers, public urinators, street performers and aggressive adolescents who converge on our neighborhood. Do you want this to be a circus or a thriving neighborhood?

#18, I’m aware of what the BID does, and recall perfectly well the discussions when they started up the BID years ago. The rationale for creating the BID was to physically clean up the downtown area, give tourists directions, provide more eyes on the street as a deterrent to crime, and to call in criminal activities to police on their radios. My frustration with the BID is that they’re good t keeping things clean and giving tourists directions, but they’re not so good at assisting police in reducing quality of life crimes. I have personally witnessed BID guys standing there doing nothing while a crazy obscenity-spewing dude threatened passers-by. If the parking jockeys are a problem on that block of 10th Street, then why isn’t a BID person assigned to that location to deter the parking jockey, inform motorists that they should not give him any money, and to call police if any cars are vandalized? I realize it’s a grey area, but shouldn’t the BID show a little initiative here?

To Columbo

You sure opened up the perverbial “bag of worms”.

It is interesting that the people who are most upset sign as “anon”…in particular number 18.

Number 18…you are very passionate, but very anonymous.

The problems ARE social problems AND need to be dealt with. Talking about these problems are good, as they may lead to a solution.

Citizens should not be made to feel that if they don’t pay these guys, that there will be reprcussions.

To PQRESIDENT..I am not sure that you are correct in stating that to just say “no thanks” is enough. It is difficult to predict what some of these people will do next, depending on their state of mind and how close they are to needing this fix.

It is my recommendation to be cautious and to just go look for another place to park.

Not sure why my previous post was blocked… I equated this to the squeegee men that would wait for drivers off the Major Deegan in the Bronx. I also said that if I do have a “Parking Jockey”, as we have so affectionately termed them, assist me, I might slip and hit the gas a bit hard while backing up… that might prevent him from “assisting” me next time. Whats with the censorship? People have a right to express their true feelings in an open forum and discussion about hot-button issues in our neighborhood.

Lackadaisi is right on! Anon #20’s reasoning could just as well lead to the conclusion that divorce or bad grades in school (“You’ll end up a ditch digger, kid!”) leads to homelessness.

It amazes me how people can get all up in arms about the car jockeys and the city “not doing anything about it,” yet ignore much more serious problems in our neighborhood.

How about the illegal business at Fun Fair on 5th St and its attendant problems? Residents nearby are reporting being threatened by drug dealers operating in the open and seeing prostitution all the time.

With all of the people living downtown, there were only about 30 at the rally– and that included the media! I was there and all this grousing about people hustling parking spaces for a buck burns my butt.

To its credit, PQLiving posted information about the protest in advance. Our neighbors needed us. Where were you complainers?

PQ Transplant,

Oh, like you’re NOT anonymous?

Here, I “signed on” this time, just like you. Now I’m “known” just as well as you are.

regarding the drug issue… I hope that those of you that go to a party and see drugs used, call the police. Even if you happen to work with that person in your corporate job. Otherwise, aren’t you being a hypocrite calling the homeless drug abusers. If what you are doing is illegal (pot, etc…) just say no.

Call them what you want, many of these people are not homeless or aggressive for that matter. We should move away from the “them and us” mentality. I don’t enjoy all of the aspects that come with an urban existence, but its a trade off. Homelessness is not a PQ problem it is a DC problem. The nations capitol is a huge draw for the homeless & mentally ill. We actually have one of the best infrastructures for the homeless but you can not force them to use it. Many of these folks have been in this neighborhood long before its revitalization. They hustle for a few dollars and what they do with those dollars is of little concern to me. So whether its pump your gas, wash your window or direct you into that space who cares. I would much rather that then mugging, robbing and breaking and entering. I’ve lived her for years without a single incident. On the contrary I lived in Baltimore for a year and my car was broken into 6 times. We live in a really safe neighborhood when its all said and done. So safe we can complain about the little stuff.

Well, lets complain but lets also keep it in perspective and while we are complaining why not complain about these valet’s who monopolize all of the street parking every night and drive like they own those vehicles and this city. Now there is something to gripe about.

In never give these any money. Its no different than a vagrant with a cup yelling “change please.” They remind me a lot of the meter attendants when I visit South Africa – and that is not a good thing (though at least there its a semi-real job).

In any event, if you see them, call 311. I have been pleasantly surprised how quickly the cops will get rid of panhandlers and these parking attendants if you call them. The big issue in my mind is that the cops won’t do anything to them UNTIL someone complains. The shear incompetence and laziness of the MPD in my mind is DCs largest problem and it results in petty crime and large annoyances in our neighborhood that shouldn’t be occuring.

Re: #23’s post of “Anon” postings…those of us who post under Anon are not any more anonyous than if we took the time to give ourselves a psuedonym, probably just a little lazier. I could be friendofPQ, would that change anything?

Decided to take several posters up on their suggestions and start calling 311 when i observe it. Hopefully others will do the same. Have already called once today.

Anon #27: Right on in regards to the drug comment! People seem to think that pot is victimless and an “ok” drug….the homeless are not the only ones using their money on illegal drugs. I smell it in the hallways of my PQ apartment building often enough to know that drug usage is a white collar AND homeless problem.

Well, I witnessed something terrible today, informed the police about it virtually 5 seconds later, and was informed that nothing could be done. I was walking by the McDonald’s at the Verizon Center and witnessed a group of male teenagers encircle a lone woman, while one of them got within an inch of ear and proceeded to scream into it. I was shaken, as was she, and walked right up to a group of police officers who were about 2 feet away to inform them about that had just occurred. The cop shrugged his shoulders and said “yeah, that happens all the time here.” And that was the extent of their involvement.

Mr. T,

You’re right, it’s a bit of a gray area and BID personnel are supposed to report threatening situations, but they are not there to “deter” people.

Just the act of telling people not to give the jockeys money can put them in a threatening situation. I sure wouldn’t do that. I opened my mouth once in a similar situation and nearly got assaulted. Lesson learned: Call 311.

How can you be sure that the BID person you saw standing by while a person was spewing obscenities hadn’t already called it in? If you were there for the entire incident and know for sure that they didn’t, let the BID know.

To get a better idea of what BID personnel are supposed to do, why not contact them? Better yet, go to the next Downtown Neighborhood Association meeting (Oct. 9) and raise the issue. The BID might even be there.

Fed up in PQ: Not surprising. MPD in general are lazy and incompetent. Your best bet is to call 311 and it will get classified as an assault and the boys would have had a nice chat with the MPD.

It is all about marketing the issue properly to the police. The vagrant in front of your building is not “a homeless person sleeping on your doorstep” it is “an individual trespassing on your property who will not leave after repeated attempts to confront the issue and who on occasion is harassing and assaulting the residents.”

If you are annoyed about a problem, email Adrian Fenty too. I have had very good success with him.

Actually, I have a funny story about these guys. One night my cousin and I had to get her very drunk sister home, and that involve moving her across the street. Before I knew what she was doing, my cousin had enlisted the help of two parking space jockeys, who carried her sister across the street. They were actually very polite and good-natured about the whole thing. Of course, they turned to me when the job was done and I forked over a few dollars, since they’d actually been somewhat helpful. When my cousin questioned me about the transaction, I had to explain that there are guys on the street who try to help people with parking and other odd jobs– she’d been living in DC as long as I had and apparently had no idea they existed.

Normally, though, I find these guys very annoying. If I live in DC I already know how to find parking spaces and parallel park, thank you very much. Having someone yelling and waving their hands and me only makes parking more difficult.

Fed up in PQ: Get used to the lack of police concern in Chinatown. My buddy was punched in the face by a drunk guy just walking down the street. My buddy’s girlfriend went over to two officers nearby and they told her that if he wasn’t bleeding or dying, they didn’t care.

# 27 and #32:

Yeah, pot is used all the time, and I too smell it in the hallways. Big deal.

Most people who live in PQ are very intelligent, hardworking, successful folks I don’t think your “Just Say No” pitch is going to work when it involves a drug that otherwise should be decriminalized if our Congress were not so insistent on maintaining antiquated and unsuccessful drug laws.

Not sure that I agree with #’s 27 & 32 in equating the private, personal consumption of pot with public consumption and distribution of much more dangerous narcotics.

I understand that in the United States pot use has been demonized, but in many societies it is considered the eqivalent to alcohol and is tolerated (France, Spain, UK etc).

This is not to say that pot is without downsides, and definitely lives have been ruined by pot. But so have lives and families been destroyed by alcohol, gambling, eating disorders etc.

If someone in your apartment building illegally streams a movie off the internet, or watches an illegal feed of a sporting event as he/she doesn’t want to pay the ESPN fee, is that the same as someone selling illegal, bootlegged DVDs on the street? Of course not.

Based on interpretations of UN resolutions, one could make a very powerful argument that the invasion of Iraq is “legal.” That doesn’t make it “right.” Equally, the possession and comnsumption of pot is illegal, but it doesn’t make it morally wrong.

Everybody –
We like a broad discussion and having people express a range of views…that said, let’s stay on topic please. The discussion is veering too far afield.

Thanks,
The Management

PQResident is right, we’ve covered the original topic well and have now veered pretty far off course. I’m going to close this posts to comments. Thanks everyone, lets to turn our attention to the new posts on the blog.

Two notes:

• Foxnews had a story last night on panhandling and featured the PQLiving blog.
• MPD 1D Commander Groomes personally sent the blog a note that “MPD has made over 25 arrests for panhandling this past month.”