Trash piled high and deep outside Queens schools

From WPIX:

Some Queens neighbors are speaking up about trash piles near several schools.

They contacted NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm after trying to get things cleaned up.

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More people dumping house trash in city bins

From the Daily News:

Home trash in city litter bins is really piling up — and this year, scofflaws have been largely getting off scot-free.

The number of $100 fines issued for illegal dumping of residential garbage in street bins dropped by 78% in fiscal year 2013, which ended June 30, city records show.

The number of trash tickets doled out declined to 922 from 4,185 in fiscal 2012.

The Sanitation Department said the huge drop happened because the agency’s cadre of enforcement officers were transferred to traffic duty for weeks after Hurricane Sandy.

While fewer tickets were issued, illegal trash dumping at the city’s 25,000 litter baskets is on the rise, local authorities say.

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Proposal to tackle the weed problem

Letter to the Editor (Queens Courier):

The issue of unkempt properties has plagued our communities since the housing bust.

The Department of Sanitation addresses properties with garbage but does not address those with unkempt grass/weeds. These properties must be addressed as well.

Often half built properties and those in foreclosure do not have garbage, but have grass/weeds that are THREE feet high. This is my proposal:

Department of Sanitation advises property owner/bank that a property is unkempt (failure to cut grass, remove weeds, trim hedges that block sidewalks etc.) and gives the owner 10 or 15 business days to comply.

If they do not comply, the Department of Finance will assess a surcharge on the next quarterly property tax bill (percentage amount to be determined). That surcharge will be used to pay for the expenses of having the property maintained on a monthly basis by private landscaper (contract given by RFP).

This surcharge can be removed once the property owner/bank can show proof that a landscaper has been hired to address future clean-ups or submits a signed affidavit with the name of the person who will maintain the property.

It is in the city’s interest to do this. The banks that have interest in these properties continue paying taxes even when the homeowners fail to pay their mortgages and the escrow for the taxes. The surcharge will be a higher tax and the city would not have to worry about how to collect for the clean-up.


Marie Adam-Ovide
District Manager
Community Board 8

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