Here’s an email that originated with the Park Slope Parents group that we think is thoughtful enough and interesting enough to present to readers. It deals with the issue of how to live in Brooklyn without a car, which is a topic which many readers, no doubt, have opinions about. Here are some excerpts:
We’ve lived in Brooklyn for 5 years now without a car. We now have two kids and I can say that while at times it’s a challenge, for the most part I don’t miss it at all. In fact, I now refer to myself as “an old Italian lady” because even when we rent a car, my husband always drives. I was never a fan of driving, but now I am almost afraid to do it, I’m so out of practice…We use Zipcar, which we think is terrific…No car payments, no insurance, no parking hassles, no break downs. Not to mention that I feel good about not contributing more crap to the environment…
I walk a lot, I schlep heavy bags a lot, and I use a lot of public transit. But every now and then when I’m hoofing it up 9th Street with my 4 year old beside me and my 2 year old in a stroller she’s not allowed to get out of because she is serving as a cantilever for all the bags from Steve’s C Town and I start to feel kind of sorry for myself, I like to think, this is REAL city living. Cars are for sissies.
As we said, a take on an topic of interest to the broader community.
17 responses so far ↓
1 DW // Jul 24, 2008 at 11:43 am
What a lot of self-absorbed-Slopie hooh-hah.
Still “contributing more crap to the environment” by using a Zipcar, which last I looked was an internal combustion automobile running on gasoline, oil, refrigerant, antifreeze, and other fluids. Some other schmuck has to take care of it.
Guess she’s better than the unwashed non-Slope masses, eh?
Bullshite.
2 Danny Eagle // Jul 24, 2008 at 11:43 am
I think loads of Brooklynites don’t have cars, myself one of them. Some things are more difficult but I don’t miss driving. Bikes can accomplish a lot of the day to day stuff you’d use a car for. Walking and biking are also better for local business and of course, staying healthy, and keeping the air clean.
3 david // Jul 24, 2008 at 12:04 pm
color me judgmental, but original poster sounds a bit sanctimonious. i’ll give 2 to 1 odds that within 5 years she’s in the burbs, w/a mini-van.
real city living? why doesn’t she move to the projects to get a bit more of her authenticity on?
boy am i persnickity this morning….
4 MJ // Jul 24, 2008 at 12:36 pm
dealing with the parking situation here is most definitely NOT for sissies.
5 wisco // Jul 24, 2008 at 12:43 pm
if you don’t have a car, it’s not simple to rent. last time i needed a car when i didn’t own one, it took me hours to find the last car in brooklyn which was $149 for a car without power steering.
zipcars are really expensive and impractical for hauling a lot of stuff, and typically don’t have AWD which, is pretty necessary for skiing or if you drive frequently in the winter.
6 Mike // Jul 24, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I can’t imagine living in Brooklyn *with* a car. The like 3 times a year I need a car? That’s what Zipcar is for.
7 Jeb // Jul 24, 2008 at 12:58 pm
sanctimonious or not, urban living provides an opportunity to live more efficiently using up less acreage. having moved from chicago to brooklyn i have shed my car. not so i can shake a finger at others but so i can try to do my small part. if everyone was just 5% ‘green’ the world would be a very different place.
8 Jude // Jul 24, 2008 at 2:47 pm
geez- tough crowd. i’m with the original poster. also she never says why she is car-less (money, environment, practicality) and you all jump to conclusions that she is ‘wagging fingers’ and self absorbed.
zipcar is a small fleet of cars shared among a community so DW needs to take a pill. more people should take her lead.
9 Dan // Jul 24, 2008 at 3:32 pm
re:#8
This is what gets me about people with Zip car memberships. They assume that when they’re not using their Zip car it sits in a garage somewhere unused until the next time they use it and that my car is sitting in its parking spot at idle all day long. Neither car user makes more of an environmental impact.
10 local mom // Jul 24, 2008 at 3:49 pm
“Neither car user makes more of an environmental impact.”
come on… ultimately – if everyone shared a few cars – there’d be less of an environmental impact simply because fewer cars would have to be made
11 Shep // Jul 24, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I don’t get what the point of the original post was. If you want a car and understand the environmental impact then get one. If not… then don’t.
I’m a Park Slope parent. I have a car, but I also have a parking space so it is easier. Most days, the car sits in the lot. But when I have to lug stuff, or kids, then I use it. I’m not going over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house via Amtrak.
12 PSPer // Jul 24, 2008 at 4:40 pm
What is missing here is the original email was a direct response asking for advice on parenting two kids in the neighborhood without a car. Someone asked her peers to share their experiences without a car so she could decide if it was the right choice for her and this is one thoughtful response. There is nothing high and mighty or sanctimonious about it. It is just one woman’s experience. I think these comments show how taking these emails out of context manipulates a wonderful community resource and turns it into a whipping post for the misguided.
13 Dan // Jul 24, 2008 at 4:42 pm
But that’s not the instance here.
14 jerry // Jul 24, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I live in brooklyn and do not own a car. I would like one though to be able to get out of the city and upstate on the weekends. Both renting a car and zipcar are more expensive than buying a used car and parking it on the street. I would prefer not to own a car also, but I would also like to explore New England (I’m from the midwest). What should I do? thanks.
15 Mike // Jul 24, 2008 at 5:33 pm
#9, 10: The main environmental impact of Zipcar is better land use. If 10 people can share a car, that means 10x fewer parking spots needed, and more space for backyards, bike lanes, trees, etc., rather than paving them for parking spaces.
16 Parker Poseur // Jul 24, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Why huff around with a stroller and heavy bags? Do what the real little old ladies do – have it delivered to your door.
17 Selfish Mom // Jul 25, 2008 at 12:51 am
I LOVE having a car. I have two kids as well, and I have to tell you, it would just suck not having it. I walk when it makes sense, I drive when it makes sense, and I finally bought a bike for when neither makes sense. I wouldn’t give up my car no matter where we lived.