A week ago I showed this photo of a car in this post completely buried under snow on a street in Brooklyn, New York, in January after snowstorms that we had here this winter.
This view is from the front of the car...
.....and this is from the rear of the car.
Quite a few readers asked me to follow up and see what happens to thsi car as the winter progresses. Quite a few readers were also wondering if the owner of this car was being ticketed, as they knew that most areas of New York City has "alternate side of the street" parking laws to allow street sweeper vehicles to come along and clean the streets. This area of Brooklyn is very residential and does not have those laws, as the homeowners themselves are required to clean the streets in front of their homes. Plus, even if the laws were in effect, they were suspended many weeks by the city because of all the snow deposits along the curbs. They were reinstated this week and I heard that the city did write many tickets on Monday for cars that were not moved.
I went back to this neighborhood yesterday and after a few days of rain and slightly warmer days this is the same car. The view from the front shows a small portion of the roof and door is exposed but the view from the back shows......
....much more of the car is exposed! (I blurred the license plate to preserve the identity of the owner.)
What surprised me was that this was not the only car in this condition! As I drove around a few blocks in this same neighborhood I came across more buried cars......
I'm calling them "carsicles"!
You can see from this photo how much snow remains on the streets, even though New York City has not had a significant snow storm in the past few weeks.
This pile of snow that was surrounding a car even contained a discarded Christmas tree that the department of sanitation has not yet picked up!
A lot of wind blown garbage has also begun to collect in the hardened, icy, snow piles.
Another street piled with snow!
The leftover snow is not a pretty sight and it has been a major inconvienience for many this winter. My guess is that most of the owners of these cars have been using mass transit to get to work and do shopping, etc. Their carsicles have not been useful to them since the big blizzard that occured the day after Christmas!
When spring thaw finally comes to Brooklyn it will be a welcome sight and much clean up will be needed. This is certainly turning into a winter we will not soon forget!
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38 comments:
Hi Pat, I wonder how many of those cars will have dead batteries. It has been a rough winter...did you see the pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge on the news? Those pot holes were huge. Well, if makes the Spring weather come any faster, maybe we can all have a collective wish for a little warmth...I will be thrilled to see the thermometer hit 50!
♥, Susan
Hi Pat, thanks for the follow-up, amazing how many carsicles there are...I understand though, I wouldn't have wanted to remove all that snow from my vehicle. Particularly when there was no where to put it and it just keep coming.
Pat, thanks for the follow-up. I wonder if all that snow piled on the vehicle for all these weeks has damaged the car in any way. I know you all will be happy to see spring this year! Cold here but no snow. ~ Sarah
Years ago I lived in North Dakota. Like in the 60's until 1971. One year the winter was so bad. The car would be buried, I dug it out. Another storm would come...I dug it out. Again? I dug it out. Finally in April we had a huge blizzard that came to town and buried the car again. That car could have stayed covered up for ten years.....I wasn't digging that car out again. It was close to June before it all thawed out.
Oh my - the poor owners must be overwhelmed! Thanks for the follow-up. Grateful that the kids dig their cars out after each snowstorm. Wonder what state the cars will be in!
WOW! And I'm still stunned that they have to clean the streets in front of their own homes....that seems crazy to me and what we live with. I have realized that compared to even Kansas City, 40 miles away, our local crews do AMAZINGLY more street cleaning than most other towns. Makes me very thankful. We have huge drifts right now and we're supposed to be getting some 50 something degree weather for a few days. So looking forward to warm days with CLEANSING rains.
Even with all the snow, I think my older son would like to get back to NYC. I told him about your blog when speaking with him last evening. He asked where you lived. He lived in Park Slope. He's now in Oakland, CA for the past three years. He loves NY! Oh, he has been on the Filbert Steps.
Hope you are warming up. It was -6 when I got up this morning. Now 10. I guess that's quite an improvement!
Best,
Bonnie
Thanks Pat for the follow-up. This ole southern gal cannot imagine that much snow --and for so long... Glad you haven't had another snow to just add to the mess... The Carsicles are unbelievable.. Guess people either have other cars or just use public transportation to get around.
Hope you are feeling better.
Hugs,
Betsy
Did you hear about the car in Astoria Queens that they found the 37 year old dead? They beleive he had had a heart attack. How sad. This weekend will be 44 so it shall melt some! Have a wonderful weekend. Grace xoox
One can't help but get the sense that the lost is going to be found once all that snow goes. It should prove interesting.
Ackkkk! I hadn't read Grace's comment when I wrote mine. I didn't mean that kind of lost. Oh how awful.
Wow Pat. .that is an amazing amount of snow.
The snow starts out so pretty and then goes down hill rapidly from there.
I just wonder how my beloved would cope with the car being snowed under scenario .. .it would no doubt cause him to be very vigilant about rescuing it.
DISSSSS GUSTING! :( I wonder when this stuff will melt. Just lovely when it is all black and dirty!
You all really got hit this year. Thanks for helping my curiosity about what happened to those carsicles.
Hi Pat, if my car was that buried I would have a really bad case of 'cabin fever' by now and I would have dug it out, even if it took me a week!!! ;-) xo
Barbara F.
I can't imagine not being able to get to my car for more than a few days...of course I don't live where there is mass transit. I feel sorry for the owners of those buried cars!
Hugs,
Penny
I wonder how many of these cars are frozen inside as well as out (and how much repair work will need to be done to make them operational again!)
Wow, it's a good thing the city didn't try to pile all those cars away! Let's hope spring arrives soon!
Oh my goodness Grace! I didn't hear that on the news. How sad and horrible, but after seeing these cars I can see how that could happen. :(
That is just unreal! I hope you have a good weekend and escape this next storm! Hugs to you my friend...warm hugs! ♥
I wonder if when the snow melts completely the cars won't be damp on the inside somehow. Maybe not. Modern cars are pretty air tight. But jeez, isn't snow ugly once the gleaming whiteness wears off and the muck and mire of the streets gets mixed in?
The snow around here is still hanging around. There's a house up the street which has a front path still thickly coated with ice. The piles of snow that remain are hard as cement.
What a winter. I wonder if we've seen the last of the snow.
Rocky just had to climb up the side of a snow bank to try and lift his little leg since he won't 'pee' unless there's some enticing scent that draws him in HA!
Pat!! I think you should trademark the word "carsicles" asap!! What a brilliant word to describe these mad mounds of cars and a christmas tree! Makes me wonder what else are hidden under these mounds of snow!! Good grief!!
It's been a mad mad mad winter hasn't it?!?!!?! All that snow!!! I hope the cars are ok though!!
Roll on spring!! Take care
x
When snow firsts starts to fall, it's so pretty. The romantic in me doesn't want to think of what happens when it continues to fall and piles up. These poor car owners.
I know everyone will be glad when this winter is behind us. My brother-in-law lives in Mineola. His street probably looks a lot like this.
Sam
Good thing you can get around without a car in Brooklyn, we'd have to dig those out here on Long Island or we'd be stranded. The buses don't come down the residential streets. We have to drive to the LIRR!
Amazing how they didn't even try to dig out their carsicles!
Warmer weather for the weekend. or so they said.
I'm hoping they're right for warmer weather this weekend! No carsicles here, but still have mountains of snow/ice on either side of my driveway-ugh:@)
Hi Pat, Very interesting post - carsicles! I was also interested to get a glimpse of the streets of Brooklyn. It really doesn't look so much different than the residential areas in my city.
Blessings, Beth
I guess with mass transit people don't need their cars like we do here in the South. But, then again, no matter how much it snows we'll never have enough to bury a car alive.
What a winter! It snowed here overnight. The roads weren't affected much. I got about 1 1/2 to 2 inches at my house. Small potatoes compared to the NE this year.
It is amazing how much dirt and trash appear after such a snow storm. Thanks for the carsickle tour .. I'm guessing it would be hard to clear snow from a car, not knowing when you might actually hit the car with your shovel.
Such a bad situation for the car owners. I always dislike the part of winter when the clean, white snow turns dirty. yuck...
I can't say that I blame these car owners. I just hope that the cars still function when they thaw out! The pictures are amazing, I just can't fathom all that snow. Hope that you have seen the last of it! Kat
The snow has been pretty impressive hasn't it? I read something in the NYT about one car somewhere that was buried and when the snow melted, there was a dead body in it.
I find it amazing that these Carsicles weren't needed to be driven by their owners! Great detective work, Pat ;)
At least they are well washed in the snow:)
You know, a car doesn't get any good by all that snow above and around, because snow contains also salt and it can damage the chassis of the car. Obvioulsy the owners dont' care.....
We're expecting a big thaw this week and you usually get our weather a day or so later. Hopefully it will melt most of this snow and ice.
Sunday here is supposed to be sunny and mid 40s...YAHOO!
What a mess! You'll be so glad when the melt is finally accomplished!
I haven't seen too many cars plowed in around here that look like the cars in your photos. Our snow is dirty looking though and as hard as ice. YUCK!!!
Hope it is beginning to melt...it was 71 here yesterday! Loved it!
I can't imagine doing without my car that long! LOL
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