Cool or Not Cool: Saving A Parking Space With Railroad Ties

Last night, around 7 PM, I parked on Sixth Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets before meeting a friend for dinner. I'd been driving around for about five minutes looking for a place to park, when I saw a guy getting out and pulled up behind him to take the spot. When I pulled forward to back in, I noticed the spot in front of  it was occupied by two railroad ties, set parallel about 5 feet apart, basically, taking up the length and width of a car. I was in a rush to meet my friend, so didn't register much about it at the time. 

Fast forward to a few hours later, I come back to my car and see the railroad ties on the curb, and a Volkswagen Passat parked in the spot. Huh. That's when it finally dawned on me that someone was just saving him/herself that spot. I've seen some brazen use of orange cones on Alternate Side mornings, but this was new to me. How long had those railroad ties been there? All day? Is this person a genius or an entitled asshole?