DPT/PCO Antics

July 9, 2014-Wednesday-2:38 p.m.-As I previous mentioned that we are inundated with acronyms, such as DPT-Department of Parking & Traffic, which employed the PCO-Parking Control Officer; in 1999 combining with MUNI-San Francisco Municipal Railway to becomes the currently SFMTA-San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

This afternoon stroll through Chinatown, I noticed a PCO with a corporal insignia below the department shoulder patch, signify either a senior officer or supervisor; along the 1100 block of Stockton Street passing three African American males loading furniture onto a black Chevrolet pick-up truck and the PCO was joking with one of the guy loading. I walked passed the two vehicles and noticed a white DPT SUV-sport utility vehicle parked behind them with another PCO seated in the passenger side. I sense something not right, therefore I walked back toward Pacific Avenue and try to locate the whereabouts of that senior PCO.

Just my luck the PCO came out of the corner store-Wah Hing Market, 1200 Stockton Street with a tote bag containing vegetables and etc. on his right arm…He's shopping!

Point #1-I doubt this is not his first time using a City vehicle to shop at Chinatown.

Point #2-The black Chevrolet pick-up truck and a white Yukon SUV belonging to the group loading furniture are parked in a "TOW AWAY-NO STOPPING ANY TIME" zone, the lane is for traffic going straight along Stockton Street, while that MUNI bus being forced onto the lane for left turn only into Pacific Street.

Point #3-These guys loading furniture or maybe moving from the Central Ping Yuen Housing Project at 711 Pacific Avenue are not City or Housing Department workers, both vehicles are not official vehicles and they even had orange cones for the front and the rear!

Point #4-The DPT SUV is parked in the "TOW AWAY" zone too!

Point #5-The senior PCO, also the driver of the SUV made a U-turn…on a double yellow lines.

Finally Point-Just look at his license plate…EXEMPT!

Chinatown Oddities #3

July 6, 2014-Sunday-8:20 a.m.-I had an old high-school buddy, whom came down from Seattle to visit his parents during the Fourth July weekend, called me last night and wanted to join me on my morning stroll through the old neighborhood. He claims the last time he was back in the City was over eight years ago and he noticed one big difference in the neighborhood…the streets and sidewalks are littered with so much trash. On our walk along Powell Street heading toward Chinatown, we passed many of the City's street corner trash receptacles overflowing with trash on and around the container. I told him that the company-Recology, which pick-up the trash at these City's trash receptacles do not work on weekends. The second changes in the neighborhood are many of the old single families dwellings have now becomes multi-roommates dwellings, and a new trend of illegal in-laws dwellings sprung up in the area too. People would always generate some kind of garbage and if no in-house garbage container are available…pass it onto the City's corner receptacles or better yet just toss them out on the streets.

Just my luck or maybe its karma, at the corner of Vallejo and Stockton Street:

Someone decided to remolded their bathroom and decided to just toss the old toilet in the street corner.

Whomever did this was nice enough to use two large black garbage bags…one for the water tank and another for the toilet bowl.  The Central Police Station is located nearby too.

My high-school buddy was speechless until we got to the next corner of Broadway and Stockton:

Someone dump a mattress on one of the busiest corner in Chinatown. My buddy looked at me and I told him at least today we did not come across any big screen TV!