What's a Tropical Carrot?

"Corner of Grandview Avenue and Himrod Street, outside Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood. Not sure who put this here, but it's certainly illegal." - Anonymous

What IS a tropical carrot, anyway?

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How do they get up there?

I just have to ask...are they riding around with a huge ladder? How do they post their illegal signs up there?

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The first ever Jamaica Cleanup Protest

The first Jamaica clean-up protest took place on Saturday, June 29th. Although small, it was a very vocal and very angry crowd about the garbage problem, the people who cause it and most importantly our elected leaders who have failed miserably with this issue and let the community really go to hell. Not one elected official turned up to march at the protest or even show their face, which was covered by NY1, the Queens Chronicle and the Queens Press.

Three candidates running for office did make appearances. Sondra Peeden, running for Councilman Leroy Comrie’s seat, Jon Torodash, running for City Council in Kew Gardens and Everly Brown, running for Queens Borough President. Both Torodash and Brown marched the entire way from 171st/109th Avenue through South Jamaica via 108th and Guy Brewer to Jamaica Avenue and ending at 89th Avenue/168th Place. Torodash, who is not even from Jamaica came to show his support, but no where to be found where Councilman Leroy Comrie (his district 27 is one of the worst), Assemblymember Vivian Cook (I still think she has been dead for several years), Ruben Wills, William Scarborough or the grand dame of incompetence, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.

So let me take you on a most interesting tour of just what we saw on this march.

Before I even get to the beginning of the march at 171st St/109th Ave, I encounter these wonderful sights:

I step out my building and walk a few feet down 170th St near the empty lot at the corner of 170th St/90th Ave and encounter the classic low ghetto garbage, chicken bones galore, with a side dish of rice. Our little dog, Teddy, would have had a field day if he was with me.



Then at 170th & Liberty the “plastered all over the place signs” on telephone poles, fences and trees greets me about carpet cleaning and I am totally shocked by this sign……………………………low class ghetto and low class third world immigrants clean their carpets.



Next the big Jamaica epidemic (and no I do not mean diabetes). I am talking about cars without license plates and/or registration stickers which is a huge problem in Jamaica as you will soon see by the photos. This one was at 170th St/Liberty Ave.


Then another one, with a South Carolina license plate and no registration sticker taking up space at 171st St/104th Ave.


Yet another one at the corner of 171st/104th Avenue. By the way it is illegal to cover a car on city streets. This particular one has no license plates or registration, flat tires and the front is demolished. I reported this to DOS several days ago and it still sits along with another one a few cars down.



Right across from the car above is an empty lot that just several days ago had garbage and several mattresses tossed on the street. I reported it, it got cleaned up and then just a few days later, more garbage. There is even more there, you just cannot see it with all the high weeds (and not the good kind). Keep in mind I am riding my bike and still have not even approached the initial protest spot at 171st/109th Ave.

Another sign. A call to the number revealed a gentlemen of Middle Eastern descent who told me the company is Priceless Realty based in Florida. Do any of you leaders or city officials even look into this kind of shit.



Another car, this time an out of state license, no registration. Again this is illegal. But this is Jamaica and Queens, where really nothing is enforced.


Ah, surprise, another car.

And another.


One more. This one with a California plate but no registration and it looks like it has been sitting here for some time.


And this beauty, which the woman who lives across the street has been complaining not only about this one, but all the others and the auto repair place next to this vehicle, which she stated they place many of these smashed up cars there, but alas her calls lead to no where. Hmmmm, wonder if this would be tolerated in Chelsea or the Upper East Side or Long Island City or Forest Hills or a white community?

And here is the auto repair that is responsible for some of these cars but not all. Hey Comrie, all this fucking shit is in your district. How about lifting a finger on this issue or are you too busy looking in the mirror at the not soon to be Queens Borough President job.


Wow, I finally reach my destination for the march, the notorious abandoned playground (owned by Crown Realty owner David Landau of Brooklyn) at 171st St/109th Ave to find garbage all over, high weeds and a pile of something near the fence.

On closer inspection, the pile is broken up concrete and blocks,  dumped I am sure by Pedro the Handyman.

While waiting for my fellow protesters to show, I notice another “For Sale vehicle”, with no license plate and registration. But I am bored waiting for my comrades, so………………………………


I decide to give it the Clean-Up Jamaica Moretti treatment, broken wipers, broken side mirrors, and garbage to top it off. I think the value of the vehicle has dropped down, so if anyone is in the market…………… After my customized job, two police officers come by in a patrol car, I flag them down, tell them about this illegally parked car and the others. They tell me they have some other business to take care of down the street but will send someone to take care of it. It is 9am, by 4pm, it is still there. I call the number on the vehicle, but it is hard to understand the heavy accent, but something about his brother, blah, blah, blah.

My comrades in arms finally show (wow, I am already exhausted). Some interviewing with NY1 (it airs Saturday night) and the Queens Chronicle and meeting some people takes place and then we being the March up 171st St.

We march up 171st, turn on 108th, work our way across Merrick Blvd into the hell hole called South Jamaica, that our elected leaders have totally abandoned all together.

Tomorrow, in Part Two of the March, more abandoned cars, a hell of a lot of garbage, abandoned homes, a crack/prostitution house, and some majorly low, low, low class ghetto people mixed in with the even more low class third world immigrants of the Middle Eastern and Pakistani background.

Tomorrow you will enter the hell hole known as South Jamaica, that even Lucifer himself would not dare enter.

Sneak Peak:

The notorious abandoned home, the crack heads and prostitutes hangout.
Your typical Middle Eastern Deli. Damn, our delis really went downhill when the Koreans sold them to the low class Middle Eastern/Pakistani slobs.

All of this “Vibrant and Diverse” Jamaica brought to you by Leroy Comrie, Helen Marshall, Vivian Cook and Senator Malcolm Smith.

GOOD FUCKING JOB FOLKS! 
Joe Moretti
Jamaica, NY 11432
http://cleanupjamaicaqueens.wordpress.com/

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Lesson learned

Turns out that despite the advice received in the comments section of my post about Dunkin Donuts using a street tree and pit for advertising, I didn't have to "take care of the problem myself." There's the easy way to do things and the right way to do things. The Parks Department handled the situation, as they were supposed to. Thank you.

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Union plasters strike warnings all over Grand Avenue

Took another stroll along Grand Avenue this weekend and here's what I found:

Signs warning the members of Local 79 that a strike is coming Monday morning.

I don't know why they are taped to telephone poles and parking meters along Grand Avenue.


We have telephones, faxes and e-mail these days, which certainly are better ways to communicate with members.

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Dunkin Donuts thinks street tree is their property

The Dunkin Donuts on Grand Avenue just east of 69th Street has been using the street tree and tree pit as advertising space for years. I have made several complaints to no avail. This is the biggest sign I have seen there so far. You'd think the Parks Department would do something about it as it should be a fairly easy situation to rectify.

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Get your junk off our poles

From the Queens Chronicle:

The placing of fliers, signs and posters around the city is an easy — and often free — means of advertising. Taping up signs for a missing pet or stapling a sign on a telephone pole pointing passersby in the direction of a garage sale is seemingly harmless but the line is fine.

“Forest Hills, south of Queens Boulevard has a long tradition of garage sales in the warmer weather,” Jon Torodash, a community activist and candidate for City Council, said. “These are often advertised by what are probably illegally posted but generally well-tolerated signs. Often we’ll also see fliers about missing pets.”

Recently, a series of posters advertising a day camp at Queens Gymnasia in Elmhurst were taped on trees along 69th Road in Forest Hills.

When asked to comment, an unidentified gentleman who answered the phone at the school said he did not know signs had been taped to trees in Forest Hills and that he would look into the issue and call back. He never did.

A few of the signs have since been ripped down. The distinction of what is considered a well-tolerated sign and a quality-of-life issue is, however, debatable.

According to the Department of Sanitation, “It is illegal for any person to affix any handbill, poster, notice, sign, advertisement, sticker or other printed material upon any tree by any means.”

Violators of this law face a $150 to $200 fine for first-time offenses. Second and subsequent offenses bump the fine up to a range of $300 to $550.

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