Brooklyn’s most befuddling street sign turned out to be a prank.
After we reported on the sign in Sheepshead Bay that warned drivers, “No Parking Other Times,” the Department of Transportation determined that it did not belong to the city.
“This sign is not part of our inventory and will be removed,” said an agency spokesman.
That’s probably for the better, as many drivers were left scratching their heads at the sign at Ocean and Emmons avenues — though some, faced with the existential question of when it was legal to park at “other times,” proceeded to park anyway.
One theory about the prank is that the person who hung the sign had a vested interest in people not parking in the area, said Theresa Schavo, the district manager of Community Board 15.
“I’m telling you people steal the [No Parking] signs!” said Schavo. “There are boats loading and unloading and someone got their hands on a sign and they don’t want people parking there!”
Schavo added that this is not the first time someone in Sheepshead Bay has taken parking matters into his own hands.
“One resident couldn’t sweep well in front of his residence, and so he hung an alternate-side parking sign on a telephone pole — but there is no alternate-side parking there!” said Schavo, adding, “People were moving their cars every Thursday, and he got to sweep.”
Theories aside, locals generally seemed to ignore the sign’s mixed message.
“I actually never noticed that sign, but I park here all the time,” said Elena Randazzo, whose family owns Randazzo’s Clam House across the street. “That one is pretty strange though.”
The odd parking warning was first noted by the blog Sheepshead Bites, which has yet to post a follow-up.
