Dodging Cars on the sidewalk

I remember the days when it was safe to walk on the sidewalk. There was no fear of passing cars hitting you or bike riders running you over. Well, my friends, those days are gone. The sidewalks in New York seem to be a free-for-all. I had never seen anything like it until I moved here, and particularly where I live, in Astoria, Queens. They park on the sidewalk and don't even leave enough space for pedestrians to get around without walking into the middle of the street. One day when I was walking the dog, there was a garbage truck holding up traffic, so instead of waiting for it to move, the cars drove up on the sidewalk, down the sidewalk past a couple of buildings and then back on to the road. Well, a car drove up right behind us and Jessie (the pup) stopped to sniff something on the sidewalk. I was waiting for the son of a bitch to yell something to me so I could give him a piece of my irritated mind, but he didn't and I let the dog sniff for a minute and then moved on. I just don't get it, though....why do people just have no respect for anyone else??