Regarding “Chronicles of a Persian Mom,” traffic has been an issue in Great Neck for as long as I can remember, and I grew up on the peninsula in the ’60s and ’70s. In fact, once, I jokingly and rhetorically asked how many cars there were in Great Neck and then replied, “One. Mine,” as it appeared that many of the motorists in Great Neck have no concern for anybody but themselves. They feel free to double park, stop, turn, exit and enter at will with no thought that they are interfering with other people’s efforts to get through their day. I don’t think that cultural origins have anything to do with the problem but more the feeling of entitlement.
My ex used to collect double-parking tickets in her glove box because she saw no reason not to just stop in the roadway as she “just ran into the cleaners, deli, drugstore, florist, etc.” Finally, she got a threatening letter from the State of New York regarding her registration suspension if these tickets weren’t addressed. She went to the Great Neck Estates Court and had the book thrown at her (rightfully so) and paid over $700 to clear them up. She was not Iranian.
Enforcement works but as the budgets keep getting cut, the police can’t even begin to be effective.
When I was in my 20s, I decided that the road test for a driver’s license should be conducted in Great Neck, driving from the train station to Kennedy Elementary School at 5:30 p.m. in the afternoon because, if you can do that, you can do anything.
—Gary Sanford
