The cavalry has arrived, but the grate is blocked!

in

The day I have been waiting for is here. ConEdison is coming today to connect my 220. The only problem is that even though it is an alternate side parking day, the street is still filled with people who have special dispensation because they work at the post office. The main offender on my block is an SUV that has a NYPD baseball cap on the dash, but the license has no shield. I assume it is a faker, parking illegally and call 311 to report the parking problem. I have got to clear this car from above the grate by 11:00am.

11:00am rolls around and he is still parked there - even though he has a ticket. the NYPD agreed with me, he didn't have a shield on his vehicle, so he probably was a poser. But ConEdison wants to move on to their next job. I beg, I plead, I serve coffee. I go to the local school and post office to make an announcement about the parked car. ConEdison goes on their way but leaves me with four cones to block the space when the guy finally moves his car. At a complete loss, I leave a note on his windshield that makes it very clear that he is parked illegally and had just screwed up my chance to do laundry and to please call me as soon as he is pulling out. 

Ten minutes later he calls me. My electrician, Ernie and I immediately call ConEdison and plead for them to come back.

it takes two men and special hooks to lift the grate.

it takes two men and special hooks to lift the grate.

After the grate was removed we could see it was a muddy mess.

After the grate was removed we could see it was a muddy mess.

This grumpy guy was called in to give the whole cavity a good flush.

This grumpy guy was called in to give the whole cavity a good flush.

Once it was all clean, Ernie, my electrician and ConEd got my 220 up and running.

Once it was all clean, Ernie, my electrician and ConEd got my 220 up and running.

ConEdison returns... and I buy everyone ShakeShack Burgers for lunch because I am so grateful. When they get the grate removed they find that it is full of dirty muddy water and the damage is not apparent. It will need a flush before they can find and fix the problem. All day long Ernie is in his element dicing and splicing for the ConEdison guys. 

As it turns out, the the offending SUV IS owned by an NYPD officer who was on MTA duty down the street, unfortunately on this day, he drove his wife's car to work and it doesn't have a shield.

I found this out too late to buy him a ShakeShack burger, but I did leave a nice note on his windshield. I'm sure they will waive the ticket within the ranks.

I am so grateful that night, that I happily did 13 loads of laundry before bed.