Threats, angry notes, slashed tires: the saga of parking space savers in Boston is unrelenting

On Friday Feb. 4 someone reported that this pressure cooker was being used as a space saver on N Street in South Boston.311.boston.gov

Parking space savers were out in full force in Boston after the Jan. 29 blizzard and even though most of the snow is long gone, they remain a contentious issue in some neighborhoods.

Space savers of all kinds — chairs, cones, buckets, and other objects — were supposed to be removed 48 hours after the snow emergency was lifted, but they continued to be used well after that deadline, according to reports posted on the city’s 311 website recently.

Boston police also received a handful of reports of vandalism that were essentially acts of retaliation against people who moved space savers in the first few days after the snowstorm.

One of those incidents happened on Jan. 31, when a woman moved a trash can to park in a spot on Mystic Street by Washington Street in the South End. When she came out later, she found a note and discovered that the left front tire of her vehicle had been slashed.

At about 2 a.m. Feb. 3, Boston police responded to a report of vandalism on Fidelis Way in Brighton. The victim told police she moved a space saver to park her Honda Accord and later discovered that both of the rear tires had been deflated.

Another act of vandalism was reported that same day on Fowler Street in Dorchester, after a woman moved a cone to park her Hyundai Sonata and later found that the front and rear driver’s side windows had been smashed and the passenger side of the vehicle had been egged.

As of Thursday, complaints about space savers continued to be reported on the city’s 311 website.

One person reported Tuesday that people were still using space savers on Seymour Street in Roslindale.

“It’s ridiculous, it’s been nearly 2 weeks since it snowed and my neighbors who have 6 cars to 1 apartment have the entire block covered in old chairs, traffic cones and milk crates and there’s nowhere for anyone to park,” the person wrote on Tuesday.

“Glendower [Road in Roslindale] is full of space savers,” another person wrote on Thursday.

The city’s 311 website also had recent reports of threats made against people who moved space savers.

One such incident occurred on Creston Street in Dorchester.

“A visiting nurse was just verbally attacked when moving a space saver,” the person wrote on Feb. 2.

One person allegedly received a threatening note after moving a space saver on Putnam Street in East Boston.

“Snow emergency ended on Monday at 0600; which means space savers were no longer allowed at 0600 on Wednesday,” the person wrote on the city’s 311 website on Feb. 3. “My husband came home from work and took a spot that had an illegal space saver. When he left for work this morning, a note was left on the car (talking about how they took my plate number and used a few ‘choice’ expletives). Here’s the deal, 48 hours after the snow emergency ends, you can no longer use space savers. Period!”

Some interesting items have been used as space savers.

What appeared to be a toy basketball hoop was spotted at the intersection of Norfolk Street and Talbot Avenue in Dorchester, and a car battery was apparently used as a space saver at the intersection of Mozart and Priesing streets in Jamaica Plain.

On Feb. 5 someone reported that a Boston police barricade was being used as a space saver at the intersection of Florida Street and Monsignor Patrick J. Lydon Way in Dorchester.

On Feb. 4 someone reported that a pressure cooker was being used as a space saver on N Street in South Boston.

“Someone is using a pressure cooker as a space saver,” the person wrote on the city’s 311 website. “Please pick up the pressure cooker.”