Lincoln Heights neighbors survive crack of dawn street cleaning with patience, donuts and coffee.
A strange and groggy game of parking chess takes place twice every week in the early hours of the morning on Avenue 25 in Lincoln Heights. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, street cleaning begins at 4 o’clock in the morning. The scarcity of open parking spaces in the neighborhood causes a fear-driven fever dream of a wake-up call, as residents try to avoid parking tickets.
“You have to make sure you are out here before 4 o’clock because they will start ticketing right away. You are not clear until 6 o’clock. Some people say once you hear the street cleaning machine go by, but I don’t trust it because it’s a $75 ticket,” says Lincoln Heights resident Cheeza.
The longtime residents of the block have subsequently grown wearisome. “You have to park the night before if you don’t want to get up at 4 a.m.,” says local resident Armando. “Sometimes at night, I will drive around for half an hour or an hour looking for a space.”
To find out out more about the situation and what the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council is — or is not — doing about it, watch the video above.