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Citizen complaint of the day: Fed up with the biker Teamsters at the Schrafft building

At the bus stop.

Two people filed complaints this weekend about Teamster parking habits outside the Schrafft building, at the bus stop and in the rotary:

Every time the Teamsters meet they park their bikes there and they are NEVER ticketed. If an ordinary citizen parked their bike there try would be towed They also park their cars in the Sullivan Circle rotary and, again, are never ticketed. Why is this allowed to happen?

Also:

There is a parking lot across the street where they can legally park. Why are they continually allowed to disregard street signs??

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Comments

Circle?

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Changed.

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Yes, Sullivan Square is, to use the N.E. term, a rotary.

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There's a part of Sullivan that isn't a parking lot?

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I definitely want the update on this. Let's see how that works out for you.

This has to be a pissy commuter. I doubt the abandoned restaurant, abandoned printing distribution center, ramp to nowhere and parking lot of broken dreams mind the motorcycles' presence.

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I don't see how the presence of any of those other things justifies parking motorcycles in a bus stop. (It doesn't matter much to me if they park in the rotary.)

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How did this citizen's complaint get tagged with that location? McGrath Highway is nowhere near this place.

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I'm sure if any of these civic minded citizens wants to take it up with one of the owners of these errant motorcycles, I'm sure they would be in for a.....spirited discussion.

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I'd bet a nickel that the drivers would be total douchebags about it. What, exactly, is your point?

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Just wondering?

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Why do you ask? I'm well aware that SOP is for tough guys to park wherever they want, because, fuck you, you gonna do something about it? Doesn't mean that talking to the assholes is a better option that reporting it to the authorities.

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In Charlestown? Where exactly?

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The caption saying "McGrath Highway, Somerville" is incorrect.

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I'm sure it says somerville as the location because the person who reported this took the photo then kept driving. When he/she submitted the report they were in somerville, so the app picked up that location.

Regardless, nobody should be above the law. If an area is marked "no parking" you shouldn't be allowed to park there, period.

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I've lived in eastern Massachusetts my entire life. I've lived in Metro Boston (including Somerville, Cambridge & Allston) for the last 24 years. I know how things work around here. Doesn't mean they can't ever change.

Or is there some new rule that you have to be from Charlestown to complain about assholes breaking the law?

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from the neighborhood where the lawbreaking's going on, Tom Joad. If you want to, as the other guy said, "concern troll" the Teamsters in a neighborhood that's not your own, the least you can do is show even an ounce of bravery. First off, what makes you think that a precinct is Charlestown is going to give a damn what "concerned citizen of indeterminate origin" has to say?

Secondly, if people are so "concerned" about these bikes blocking a bus stop, why have none of these complaints come from a bus rider? Does anyone know what bus runs that route? If/when it stops at that shelter? Wouldn't the MBTA and its drivers have some interest in keeping the area clear?

The area around Sullivan Square on that side of the tracks is pretty desolate. That doesn't make it OK to go putting your bike in front of a bus stop, but that also doesn't necessarily make doing so tantamount on the list of offenses in that neighborhood. Considering you don't live there, don't work there and don't seem to frequent that area very often, it doesn't seem like you can offer than much insight. While it's great that you want to play Batman, there are better issues to launch a caped crusade over.

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I live and work in Charlestown and also use public transportation frequently.

Both the 92 and 93 bus use that stop in front of the Shrafft Center.

I have brought this issue of illegal parking up to our community liaison in the past and nothing is ever done. Not sure the reason, but what I've been told is that union workers won't ticket union workers. I presume bus drivers are also union and perhaps why they don't complain? I know of others who have also raised this issue. One group even tried to plant flowers last year in the rotary but the illegal parkers simply ran them over.

Road signs need to apply to all, not just some. And it's not as if there is a parking shortage. Sunday mornings there is lots of parking up and down Medford St or they can park in one of the two public lots across the street that commuter use during the week.

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Not many people would board a bus here (as the 93's next and final stop is always Sullivan Square, and the 92 only sometimes continues to Assembly Square), but plenty would get off to work at the Schrafft building.

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the least you can do is show even an ounce of bravery.

What is this supposed to mean? If I see a crime in progress, I shouldn't report it to the police unless I'm "brave" enough to confront the alleged criminals myself? Did you just get off the boat from fairyland?

Wouldn't the MBTA and its drivers have some interest in keeping the area clear?

LOL. Never mind. You really had me going there for a minute. Either you really are extremely new to this area or you're joking, to think that the MBTA would ever give a tin shit about blocked bus stops.

Also, not to tax your brain too much, but presumably the original complaint came from someone who works or lives in the vicinity.

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We had this problem during a JP thread about a moving container. Instead of taking any direct action -- like maybe contacting the Teamsters or MBTA -- you want the police to handle the messy little community relations details for you.

That brings up quite a few problems. First off, that's just the kind of insular, introverted way of thinking that likely led the bike riders to park there in the first place. Nobody said anything the first few times they did it, so why not keep doing it?

Secondly, if you were a regular bus rider on that route, I'm guessing the Teamsters see you there regularly. If they do so and ignore you, report it to the bus driver or the T after you squeeze around the bikes to get to your bus and, if that doesn't work, contact the parking authority or the cops.

Third, if you're just a commuter who passes through and takes a picture, who says you have the whole story? The MBTA's been cutting some bus routes and cutting down some others. That stop may be defunct.

Finally, "I know how things work around here" will never change things. When my neighborhood has problems with noise, parking, spotlights from neighboring businesses and structures, etc., my neighbors and I consider City Hall or BPD the last resort. Knocking on doors at least gives neighbors a chance to say the "fuck you" you're assuming you'll get. You'd be surprised how rarely that happens. In the last five years, we've helped a neighbor fix a car we thought was abandoned, helped a church redirect lights that were shining straight through neighbors' windowshades, helped new neighbors contact the city for moving/parking permits and helped older neighbors clear snow from between and beneath parked cars to reduces neighborhood place holders to nearly none.

Had we gone right to the city or police with any or all of these, we would've unnecessarily diverted resources and almost certainly made life more miserable for both ourselves and our neighbors.

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It's illegal parking on a city street. Of course it's the city's job to deal with it. It's certainly not a random bus driver's job.

The T has not made any cuts yet. And if they had, they should have taken down the bus stop sign.

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that the Teamsters have a lot of clout in this town, always have and always will. If a neighbor or a commuter has a problem with the Teamsters, they should address the Teamsters directly. Knowing the Teamsters as I do, they will be more than willing to listen to what you have to say and if they're feeling charitable, the bikes will be gone.

For about a week. Then they'll be right back again. Then if you feel inclined to go back and complain to them again, then they'll tell you to go fuck yourself. That's just the way it is.

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It's a bus stop. There are other places to park motorcycles in this neighborhood.

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and I agree, I'm just saying, it's the Teamsters.

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So, assuming I lived in Charlestown, and wanted to take the bus to or from this bus stop, why, exactly, should I waste my time contacting the Teamsters directly, if the end result is (as anyone who didn't just fall off the turnip truck would suspect) that they're going to tell me to fuck myself?

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Here's what's on the table: Union members won't slight other union members. Armed with that knowledge, we know T workers won't do anything, cops won't do anything and city employees won't do anything.

We also know that this bus station is on a line with another stop at Sullivan in both directions. If you know nobody's going to stop Teamsters from parking bikes in front of that stop and you know there's another stop a parking lot away, why bother filing this Citizen Complaint? Principle's lovely and all, but I'm guessing everyone else just decided it's easier to get the bus at Sullivan than to move bikes nobody in power wants moved. 5-1 odds says the "solution" to this problem is one less bus shelter.

Does this suck? Somewhat. Anyone who hasn't fallen off the same turnip truck knows the rules never apply equally. Cops, firemen, Teamsters, active duty military, retirees, the disabled -- they're all treated differently, special. Hell, a guy who sits on a stool at the local long enough is treated differently than some poor shmoe who pops in for a drink.

You can sit there pointing at the problem hoping someone else will do something about it, or you can go ahead and do something yourself. In this case, maybe screaming into the wind isn't the wisest thing to do.

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and live with it.

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But instead I contact some city or state agency that might be in more of a position to put pressure on the Teamsters? Like, you know, some sort of city agency for handling resident complaints. Or the police department. Would that be OK? Or do I need to get your permission first?

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see where it gets you. I'm dying to know.

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If only there were some sort of website oriented towards Boston news where one might track the progress of such a complaint.

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The Sullivan Square area needs more on-street parking, and fewer off-street parking lots.

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You guys seem to suggest that filing a complaint on Citizens Connect wasted the police's time. 911 wasn't called, the police weren't called. A complaint (two in fact) was simply filed. Maybe if enough are registered the mayor will ask the traffic dept (who work on Sundays anyway) to make a trip to Sullivan Square.

The argument "It's always been like that, so it can't change" is really weak. Thank God MLK, Ghandi and even us Northerners who fought to abolish slavery didn't follow that reasoning. When people see something wrong, they should speak up. Suggesting anyone go right to the teamsters is just plain silly. Really? So, the people who post complaints on Citizens Connect about broken street lights should fix them themselves and those who register snow not being cleared from sidewalks timely should shovel themselves. Come on, be realistic. Yes, it's been done FOREVER, but one or two weekends of parking tickets will show that it's no longer allowed. The city gets revenue, people park legally, nobody gets preferential treatment. That's really not so difficult.

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182 years old, if I read your part in the struggle correctly. No wonder you need to save those few steps past all those motorcycles!

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The Teamsters aren't a pile of snow or a faulty lightbulb. They're very real people who can make life a whole lot harder than it is now for cowards (good call, JPFree) taking potshots from behind their computer screen.

By the way, Gen. McClellan, just how do you think these tickets are going to happen? Do you think this really hasn't come to the traffic department's attention. Do you think they haven't heard the complaints from other neighbors and placed them in the circular file? Union doesn't ticket union. The city knows damned well whose bikes those are and has done nothing about it,

Nobody gets preferential treatment

Read the argument a few posts up. Someone ALWAYS gets preferential treatment. It's called privilege, and it's been around a lot longer than 182 years.

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I can see why you didn't log on. If the very real Teamsters "can make life a whole lot harder than it is now for cowards taking potshots from behind their computer screen," posting anon must be just the ticket.

I hope they haven't backtraced me!

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These TOONIES have nothing better to do.
Most of them are trust fund babies, they come to Charlestown buy a new toy (real estate) with Mommy and Daddies money stay here for a couple of years and make everybody around them miserable, then they hit the road with their small profit and back to suburbia. TOONIES/YUPPIES have been stirring things up since they've infested the Boston neighborhoods, over in the North End every summer you read in the papers about how upset these YUPPIE frauds are because of the feast and the smell of the sausages.
LEAVE THE TEAMSTERS ALONE, otherwise go back to Weston or Newton or wherever you frauds are from.

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