City says 'no savesies' for shoveled spaces

The Philadelphia Police Department put out a timely reminder Wednesday for city residents just back from shoveling out their automobiles.

"Remember," the department's public affairs office announced via Twitter, "No cones, trash cans, chairs, recycle bins, fire extinguishers, crutches or anything else to SAVE a parking spot."

The department's hashtag: "#nosavesies."

Mayor Nutter, asked about this Wednesday morning at a briefing on the storm, tried to straddle the issue. "I do think there is something to the value of having spent four hours trying to dig out a space," he said, offering his own advice: "Be smart, be nice, and don't be a jerk."

No law "says that just because you dug out a space, it's yours," Nutter said. "In a neighborhood kind of situation, folks usually work it out. It is only with those who have some other issues going on with them, you have these bizarre, sometimes tragic, results. That's where patience comes in."

"Savesies" go way back. After a 2010 snow, Philadelphia police spokesman Ray Evers said: "Officially, you cannot put a chair, milk crate, your grandmother . . . officially, it's not your spot, and you can't save it, officially." -Bob Warner