'AITA for not moving my car for someone who was filming? He left a demanding note.'

"AITA for not moving my car for someone who was filming?"

So I came home from work one day to find a note taped to my door by a neighbor. It said "Please do not park on this block on Monday between 10am and 12pm. I will be filming on the street. NYPD has been notified and you will be ticketed." I found this annoying, and a little suspect, so I called my local precinct to ask them about this.

They told me this guy had called them, and they told him while he can film on the street he can not tell people not to park there, and the authorities can't help him. I guess I wasn't the only person to call the police and this got back to him because I found another note the next day. "Hi, NYPD actually didn't tell me that they will ticket your car, but I would appreciate your cooperation."

I don't take kindly to false threats, so I decided not to move my car on Monday morning. Unlike a lot of the city, my neighborhood is pretty quiet and I live in a very residential part of it, so it's pretty easy to park on my block. I often see driving instructors teaching lessons here because of how quiet the neighborhood is.

When I was walking to the subway before 10am on Monday the guy was set up and he saw me walking down the road. He asked me if any of the cars were mine, and I would mind moving it. I said one of the cars was mine, and I would not be moving it. He told me I'd be doing him a favor.

I told him that if he hadn't lied when he posted his first note, I might have considered it, but I'm definitely not doing it now. He asked me again, and I said no. He called me a jerk and a bad neighbor. I just told him to deal with it and continued walking. AITA?

The internet kept it real.

Remarkable_Inchworm wrote:

"NYPD has been notified" is code for "I am doing this without any sort of permit or cooperation and hoping for the best."

When it's an official/licensed film shoot there are very formal signs posted well in advance advising people not to park, etc. Sounds like this is some REALLY indie or student film situation...and this guy should have been a lot nicer to the neighborhood people he was asking for favors. NTA.

Srvntgrrl_789 wrote:

NTA. I've worked on a few film productions, and this is NOT how you do things. If the person has a permit, that is a different story, but it doesn't sound like they have one. I live in L.A, and there is always someone filming something.

If it's in my neighborhood, the production company is required to notify ALL neighbors and businesses that filming will commence within a week's time, so those who live/work there will not be inconvenienced. It sounds like the guy is either a student film maker, or an influencer, and both of those categories try to do things on the cheap, and don't usually care about who they screw over.

rockology_adam wrote:

NTA. I agree that it's really the lies and not the request that makes Mr. Filmmaker the a-hole here. He could have gotten a lot of mileage out of "I'm a local filmmaker and would love to use this street at this date and time without any vehicles on it. I'm broke and this is a passion project and I would appreciate your help.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help make this happen: drives to and from other parking locations, valet service for your car, etc." and then "my local community in [neighbourhood]" ends up with a cute thank you in the film credits.

Or maybe he's not local but appreciates the local architecture or climate. He could have complimented almost any aspect of your neighbourhood and asked politely and gotten a lot of mileage. And even if your neighbourhood is full of jerks, you can edit those parked cars out pretty easily in post.

Active-Anteater1884 wrote:

NTA. If a neighbor said to me, "Hey. I'm working on a little video project, and it would be great if I could have the street clear from 10-12 on Monday. Any chance I could ask if you could park elsewhere during that time?" I'd do my absolute best to accommodate. But he chose to start negotiations by putting that ridiculous, lying note on your door? Get out of here.

BTW, I also live in NYC, in an area that a lot of legit film crews use. When you're not allowed to park because of filming, there are very official looking notices from, I think, the NYPD saying, "Don't park here on such-and-such a day." Then it names the project being filmed, and some other identifying information. If you ever get a legit notice, you'll know it.

Goddess_Atina wrote:

NTA. The neighbor’s initial note was both presumptuous and misleading, and it’s understandable why you’d be annoyed by the false threat of a ticket. He didn’t have the authority to enforce parking restrictions, and once he misled people, it’s reasonable that you wouldn’t feel obligated to comply with his request.

You were within your rights to keep your car parked where it was, especially since his follow-up note was more polite but didn’t change the situation. It’s clear you were responding to his initial approach with a reasonable level of frustration, given his attempt to deceive. Being called a jerk and a bad neighbor by someone who acted inappropriately doesn’t mean you were in the wrong.