Cooper owners in the 5 boroughs: Post to this thread! It's time to connect.

I'm in Brooklyn and commute to Manhattan. What a joy it is to motor in NYC. No doubt, we drive the ultimate urban rally car.

Yours in Motoring,
Dave

 

I live on City Island, my commute is only 7 miles into Westchester county. So, I have to take my MINI on the road to really enjoy it. We went to Maine last weekend and you would think they never saw a MINI! So much fun watching peoples reactions.

 

^ Just have to laugh at that, and tell you a little anecdote.

We go to Maine every year, around the Memorial day week. I'd just purchased MINI, and was waiting for delivery. So here we are, leaving Mount Desert Island, and just as we get to the middle of Thompson Island (it's only about 1000 feet long) I see a red & white going towards Bar Harbor.

So they have seen a MINI over there! I look forward to reintroducing them to the island next spring, although I think they'll be used to them by then.

 

Is anyone street parking currently? I am expecting a garage spot in a few weeks, but in the meantime I am keeping in the EV area (mostly Ave A-C, right off of Houston). I have watched some terrifying parking practices, either out of ignorance or spite (not near my S, but in the time I have lived here), but am tentatively secure. Call me foolish. I am wondering how essential the garage is. I like walking by my car every day, though being a long time Transporation Alternatives member, I find that street parking is an unjustifiable privilege. And then there is paint, dirt (though this is no benefit of a garage, with exhaust dust).

And I have been reading the detailing thread with some trepidation. Where would one do a decent wash and wax job around here? I filled mine with muddy Pumpkins the week I got it, and then sand from coast a week later. I'm not getting it and thinking 'Eeek! I must wash! I must wax!' but this has to happen sometime.

 

>>Is anyone street parking currently?
Username, I'm in the smae boat as you.
I don't have my mini yet but I live in the Park Sloap area of brooklyn and I plan on street parking when the car gets here. I was worried for a while about theft and vandalism, so I posted a thread on this site a while ago. There were several responses from people who had or did live in this area, and over all I got the feeling it would be ok, in my area to leave the car on the street at night. East villiage might be a different story though. If you don't mind me asking, how much will you be paying for you garage spot? I was told some spaces can run as much as my apartment rent.
As far as theft goes, if that is a concern of yours, there seemed to be a general consensus on this site that the mini parts of interest are so rare and odd shaped(xenon lights for example) that there wouldn't be much of a black market for them. And anyway as long as you have good insurance, whatever the effects of street parking be, you'd be covered.

 

I'm not so worried about theft, but what was so perfectly described by a friend as 'braille parking.' I'm hoping that everyone will be so entranced by it, they will park extra careful, though at least once I have seen someone do what I guess should be a called a 'bumper kiss' parking job (coming in an open area tight against a yellow curb, so they didn't have to worry about clear distance behind) which spooked me a little.

My space is $225 for a enclosed space on the west side (it will be near my office). The cheapest covered parking in Manhattan is $165 at Pier 64 (?- near Chelsea Piers). The wait list there is next to impossible (I was told by the attendant at my garage the list was 300 people long. I don't know it that was intended to garner a little more grease or not- how's that for a sub-topic? The appropriate amount to 'tip' to get a parking space in NYC)

 

The downside of living in the city - I have garage space here in Pa :smile:

Go for the garage and use a car cover

As for the tip ,I would ask how much does it cost to go to the top of the list

 

Is anyone going to the party this Thursday at Manhattan MINI? (If you haven't received an invite, call 212-314-9750; don't worry about exclusivity or anything, they are advertising it in the Voice)

And if anyone in the NE region is looking for an interesting road trip and is an illustration or children's book fan, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (Eric Carle is the author of The Very Hungry Catapillar, a famous book make more so my Dubya naming it his favorite book) in Amherst opens this weekend. Friday is the opening ceremony, with work by Carle, Maurice Sendak and Robert Ingpen.
Carle Museum Site

And if the weather is still good for those VT roads, for art (particularly contemporary art) fans, there is MassMOCA in North Adams.
MassMOCA site

And for the architecture fans making that trip, in Williamstown, at the Clark Art Institute, they are showing a retrospective of Tadao Ando, who is designing their new bulding (Ando rarely builds in the US, and has designed some of the most stunning chapels and religious strucutures in the world, though they are mostly in Japan). This one is through next April, so you could wait for spring (413-458-2303)

 

oooooh username, great tip!!!!!!!!

Don't forget the Brandywine museum in PA(of Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth fame). I've never taken the trip(from NY) but it's one I already have planned out for when I get my mini.
Oh and there's always the Norman Rockwell museum up near the Berkshires, that's a great drive!