Park Slope Garbage Issue
I admire the hard work most of my neighbors and commercial establishments do in their attempt to keep this part of Brooklyn clean. But what I don’t admire is the attitude of some of Park Slope’s residents when it comes to taking care of their residential trash. One of those residents is the landlord of…
I admire the hard work most of my neighbors and commercial
establishments do in their attempt to keep this part of Brooklyn
clean.
But what I don’t admire is the attitude of some of Park Slope’s
residents when it comes to taking care of their residential trash.
One of those residents is the landlord of a building in the Park Slope
section of Brooklyn that has two addresses. One is 451 Fourth Street;
the other is 230 7th Avenue. Residents of these addresses have
disposed of their trash for years in a location outside 451 4th
Street. The landlord has been cited many times for not keeping with
community standards, not properly disposing of trash, not having
proper recycling bins, et cetera. Not enough receptacles for trash, and
so on.
Now the landlord has taken up space on the city-owned sidewalks
[without it seems any permits] for a small enclosure that inside have
two small Dumpsters. These Dumpsters are used for residential garbage,
and are owned by a private contractor, D&D Carting. They seem to be
emptied only once a week, Monday or Tuesday nights.
This is a residential neighborhood. People take out their trash twice
a week. We try and keep our surroundings tidy. Even the commercial
establishments in the area do not as a rule use Dumpsters or if they
do they are well-hidden.
Why has this landlord [listed by HPD as Lillian Anello, 238 7th
Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215] has been able to pull all of this off
without penalty is a mystery to me. The 451 4th Street location seems
to be a catch-all trash location for Anello-owned residences at 451
4th St/230 7th Avenue and 238 7th Avenue as well. In the middle of
this is the Lion In The Sun stationery store, which uses a different
commercial carting service for its trash.
What gives a landlord the right to take over a section of the
city-owned sidewalk for a trash enclosure? There doesn’t seem to be an
application for a permit from the Buildings Department. Why does a
landlord need a privately-contracted Dumpster in a residential
neighborhood where there are none, and Sanitation does twice-weekly
pickup? Please note these Dumpsters are used for residential trash
only and are not being used for building renovation at the same
address. Why is there no provision for recycling at these Dumpsters as
there is for all other residential buildings in New York City?
These Dumpsters are a health hazard, as well as a fire hazard and an
impedance to pedestrian flow on the city-owned sidewalk in front of
the building. And with the recent heat wave, this trash pile smells
and attracts vermin.
311 has been notified many times. Emails have been sent to the local community board, City Council person and the borough president. The Sanitation commissioner got a copy of this and many more pictures via regular mail.
What next?
Thanks for all the suggestions. Of course the local politicians, civic groups, community board, etc. do nothing. Unless it is in their front yard, of course. Promises don’t get you anything. Action, does. Sanitation dept. fines are a joke. The slum lord slob continues to foul the nearby sidewalk with mounds of smelly trash in an ugly Dumpster surrounded by a flimsy enclosure. Old-school Park Slope still has a pulse.
Reach out to the Park Slope Civic Council. They have people who know people… including Craig Hammerman.
I think DOT is right as someone already said. I believe they are agency that regulates things like outdoor cafes and the miniumum # of feet that are supposed to be clear for passage etc. on a sidewalk.
they may at least be able to give you info you need about how to pursue this.
curious to know what happens with this, I agree it’s crazy, even though I cannot see the foot.
My condo just stores the trash in the trash room and then puts the bags out the night before collection. I’m surprised that other condos don’t do the same.
I 2nd that on the new condo bldgs…..no place for garbage or recycling.
There is a newish condo on my corner .. 6 units above a commercial….they have 2 garbage cans on side street of building sitting in unused doorway(meaning residents walk around corner toward back of bldg to throw out garbage_ —-they do no recycling at all.
There is no resident super and the landlord is unapproachable. The landlord could store trash in her brand-new garage which has a lot to room, but does not.
One last thought on this by me anyway…have you seen rats there? if so make a 311 rat complaint….
Have nothing practical to offer but just wanted to say thanks for raising this and (hopefully) putting some more pressure on someone somewhere to act.
“FYI It’s an old-school PS family”
“Lillian Anello”
Expecting Benson in 3…2…1…
Looks like the owner is aware of the problem and decided that the way to handle the situation was to pay out of pocket for a commercial service. Looks like it is not working.
Several years ago the city suddenly changed its policy against property owners leaving garbage cans out in front of their properties on public sidewalks. They started ticketing like crazy and forced owners to relocate their cans. This was especially true for buildings on an avenue. (The reason, I suspect, for garbage being moved to/from the other 7th Ave addresses)
Some buildings simply just don’t have the room to store their garbage. Multiple family buildings must keep their garbage inside or in back of the building until pick up dates. Most brownstones don’t have the room for this unless they have a gated front yard. Is this a corner property?
The reality is that with no place to store the garbage unless the building has a very aggressive super the trash situation will eventually get out of hand as is the case here. Have you talked to the super? Did you talk to the landlord? Maybe you could be a good neighbor and help her find a better solution.
FYI commercial garbage by law is picked up nightly by private carters for most restuarants/stores by very noisy trucks with squeaky breaks.
What I find unbelievable is how many of the new condos have crappy garbage cans chained out front. You think they would have designed a space for this.