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Letter: Please Shovel the Snow

Illustration Photo

CrownHeights.info received an email from a concerned member of the community with a letter addressed to the community. Please shovel the snow from the sidewalk in front of your house or building.

Dear Crown Heights Homeowners,

There are no two people alike that which is what make human being so unique. We each have our own distinct personalities, quirks, and things that make us tick.

There is one thing though that everyone no matter who you are shares and that is the dislike of people who just blatantly disregard the safety of others. In this letter I am referring to for lack of a better word the “pathetic” shoveling of snow that some people do in the front of their homes.

I am writing to bring to the attention of the community that we have hundreds of woman pushing carriages, kids walking to school, elderly people innocently trying to go for a stroll. But every one of these people is coming across houses that just leave their snow piled high for woman to push the carriage thru, elderly man/woman to slip and break a hip, and kids to slip and break a hand or leg….

So I propose to all rich or poor, if you own a home own up and shovel a path wide enough so that when people walk they can do so pleasantly and with ease.

I know there are some people that are unable to shovel their own snow and for those people know that there are people who go from door to door looking for to do just that for a reasonable $20

If you’re not sure about the width of the path think of a STROLLER and if you really want to be a Baal Chesed think of a DOUBLE STROLLER!

P.S.

We don’t need a third Rov for this!
Thank you

Fellow CH’er

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32 Comments

  • Oiss vorrff

    Gr8 artical . Dittos I am with U 1000% . it would have been better to see this a month ago. But beter now ghen never. , thums up .

  • MR. 646 Empire Shovel your walk way

    646 Empire Blvd. SHOVEL YOUR SIDEWALK
    You have a shul there and its so dangerous the way you keep it have ahavas yisroel for the jews that come to the shul and walk by your house .
    PLEASE SHOVEL!!!

  • senior youngerman in CH

    with so much snow falling, it is hard to keep up. i can not shovel so i paid total of $60 to have the front and side of my house shoveled. I can not do this every time. next time i paid $10 to have just a narrow path in front of my house. i have not gotten my car out yet because i do not have the money to get someone to dig it out. we homeowners can not afford to pay for space for “a stroll”, for a stroller, etc. are you going to complain about everything? what about the streets, your car. why is this pathetic? there is enough room for you to walk. and yes, it is ny and it is snow. if it is too difficult to live here move. what about the rains in other places? where can you run to?

  • well said!

    thank you so much! well said! I wish I knew which division of the govt officials I can speak to to make it into a law that the shoveled path has to be a minimum of …. feet = width of a double stroller or wheel chair!

  • Mr Agree

    well said. I’ve been meaning to write up such a letter.

    please let’s not forget street corners!!!!!

  • mashie

    What about the streets? why doesn’t anyone complain about the state of the streets and crosswalks? where is the leadership in the community?
    what an embarresment

  • slipped on the ice

    Equally important: if you don’t scrape the slush and/or ice off regularly, please make sure to salt or sand the sidewalk.

  • Better Idea

    Why doesn’t the community counsel just higher a mini plow to do all the sidewalks?

  • Sophomoric

    The P.S. about a third Rov is very sophomoric and detracts from any positive value the letter may otherwise have had.

  • meir

    the shop keepers are responsible for keeping their walks clean. the corner of president and kingston , in front the bakery ,is a law suit waiting to happen. it disturbs me that some people don’t give a damn about this holy neighborhood.

  • Talia

    while you are correct. a) maybe its the elderly that cant get out to shovel their sidewlak themselves..b) next time you bring a carriage or double carriage INTO a kingston store, be ocnsiderate and leave it outside…remember its also blocking traffic….in the store.. sometime even the actual doorway!

  • TO #3 - SENIOR YOUNGERMAN

    YOU bought a house here. The law is you must shovel infront of your house so that passersby can pass without getting hurt. Since this community has many youngsters and elderlies, that is who will pass by. You need to do what it takes to get them across your pathway safely. If a wheelchair cannot get thru, then they are at risk. Maybe if you don’t want to shovel so much, then just move out of town to a place where they don’t have sidewalks.

  • To #10 - BETTER IDEA

    The community council isn’t doing anything. It’s not really their RESPONSIBILITY either.
    But maybe you can go rent one, and offer every neighbor to do theirs for $10.
    If you do the whole Crown Heights, you’ll make back the money. Maybe even more, with all these storms we’re having this year.

  • Rivky

    Mr #3: I’m sorry that your car is still stuck under the snow and I commiserate with your financial difficulties.

    Let me reassure you, though – $60 is a whole lot cheaper than the lawsuit you will be faced with if someone slips and hurts themselves in front of your house, G-d forbid.

  • concerned resident

    To #3

    Having been in your situation, I understand your comments, but don’t completely agree with them, rather I think the community should take care that all senior citizens and disabled people should have their sidewalks cleaned without having to pay for it.

  • concerned resident

    Most corners in CH are not cleared adequately. It is important to not only clear a path but CLEAR THE SEWERS, so that when snow melts the water doesn’t accumulate, and then turn to ice again.
    Anyone owning property near a corner should be responsible.

  • someone struggling with a carriage

    The person that wrote this article is very smart cuz if something Ch”s happens to anyone the house that the sidewalk belongs to can be sued so the person is suggesting it to save you a headache be smart don’t find excuses and shovel….people have to walk to be able to go on in life despite the snow (and not everyone is going to say that it’s a yid I won’t sue) and driving a car is not a necessity walking is

  • Well Done!

    Wonderful comment,coming from a woman pushing an incredibly heavy front to back narrow stroller it is INCREDIBLY difficult trudging over snowy sludgy areas! I cant even count the number of times my stroller nearly tipped from the uneven sidewalk paths! Thanx to all those who were menschlich enough to do their walks..it was/is greatly appreciated!

  • scmaness@gmail.com

    l think that the community should do the walks,including the streets,those that can pay something should,those that can’t should be extempt

  • to number 11

    #11 the p.s. humor may have been out of place but wrong does not take away from the right.. you views must be very extreme which is not a healthy way to live.

  • to #3

    and if they dont live here? And if they came here for Kinus and instead of getting inspiration they get ________??
    Everyone, the amount you have to shovel it about three side walk stones. Here, when it snows, we need to get to our chabad house, it is about a half a block to shovel, and if we dont shovel, we have to walk in snow very high. We do not have a law to shovel, perhaps because everyone thinks that it doesnt snow here (which is wrong, theres 2 feet of snow outside right now).
    The picture made me cry. Where is your consideration?

  • MAD

    IF I WOULD HAVE GONE TO KINUS, I WOULD HAVE ASKED MY BUBBY AND ZAIDY FOR THEIR SHOVEL AND SHOVELED ALL THE CORNERS!!!!! MY SISTERS CAME BACK CRYING ABOUT THE SNOW!!!!

  • To #24

    Human nature is that when someone makes an argument, we subconsciously base part of our judgment on the person’s character and personality. Sometimes a person will argue something which stands well on its own, but when one takes into account who is saying this statement it may lose a lot of credibility. For this reason many people tend to disregard comments written with bad spelling and grammar as they are often an indication of a lack of education and intellectual maturity (and sometimes emotional maturity, as in the case of some who insist on writing in capital letters). Comment #11 was merely pointing out that the P.S. damaged the author’s credibility, and thereby the entire letter.

  • thanks to 683 montgomery st

    thanks to 683 montgomery st for keeping the front of your house so clean

  • Crown Heights Resident (who shovels)

    THe comment at the en dabout the riv really ruined the whole letter.
    the rest however is soo true!
    hopefuly everyone will take your heartfelt pleas into acount.

  • Perfect Picture

    I love the picture chosen to accompany this article. Having lived in CH, I know that corner, center of town, very well. Low and behold the property on it is not owned by a private person, but a community organization. The snow is usually not shoveled there….
    People should definitely shovel – and I own a corner house – so I know what its like, but get real – a demand for a path for a double stroller is a bit much. Kol Hakavod and lots of hakaras hatov to those that can shovel that much, but the mothers could try to make their lives easier too. There are doubles front/back, one kid in a single and the other in a carrier…
    Also, it would be nice if the passersby thanked the people shoveling for them. Yes, it is the law and it is only mentchlich, but so is saying ‘thank you’.
    Safe winter to all!

  • good exercise

    Besides NY’ers being about the most inconsiderate people sometimes, a good shovel costs less than $20. The exercise would do you some good! A little at a time between breather breaks would go a very long way in making this difficult time of year just a little more pleasant.

  • Where is the community council??

    Yes, everyone should be shoveling their own properties but the community council should also pitch in and hire people to clear the intersections. And the comment at the end of the article is merely pointing out that the community heads are so busy with their own politics they are not bothering with doing things that are beneficial to the community. Maybe I’m wrong and they are doing wonderful things, but the politics going on is an embarrassment and a joke at this point in time. (and P.S. I spelled embarrassment wrong and my spell checker caught it so why are there still so many spelling mistakes in these comments??) And yes, the comment about not having enough money to hire someone, is not justified. You gotta do what you gotta do. Don’t tell someone to leave because they can’t get around because you can’t shovel. That’s not Ahavas Yisroel.