Sidewalk Garbage Dumping Goes Unchecked for Years

The sidewalk in front of a vacant lot on Throop Ave. between Hancock St. and Jefferson Ave. has become a repository for piles of garbage on a regular basis, drawing flies, rats and complaints from neighbors.

"It's been like this since at least 2006," said Wes Gibson, an officer of the 500 Quincy Street Block Association.

"It's right in front of an abandoned building that was a former crack house."

Gibson said he's made numerous complaints but so far nothing has been done to permanently rectify the situation, although the garbage is periodically removed.

"The trash shows up over night," but it soon returns, he said.

"There'll be a small pile say on Tuesday afternoon for instance, which doubles by Wednesday, and it goes on after that."

Beryl Nyack, Assistant District Manager at Community Board 3 (CB3), whom Gibson routinely calls to get the trash removed, said there's not much that can be done unless the culprits are caught.

"People just dump construction debris and household garbage," she said.

"Before it was just the lot, and now it's on the street. The city did what they were supposed to do by securing the lot."

"It's a serious problem," she said, "(But) Sanitation doesn't have the manpower to put someone in the area. They do have an enforcement division, but they don't have a lot of inspectors in that unit."

Gibson said he's also contacted 311 and the Despartment of Sanitation (DSNY) himself, but they only remove whatever existing trash there is.

"I was keeping a running tally (of complaints), but i just got so disgusted I don't even know what my records are anymore," he said.

"Unfortunately this is what's called illegal dumping," said Keith Mellis of the DSNY.

He said it's difficult to prevent due to the many ways people can bring the garbage to a spot that's become known as an informal dump.

"Sometimes people are very clever and do it from shopping carts," he said. "Other times it's from motor vehicles, and that carries fines up to $20,000."

But Gibson isn't satisfied with what he feels is finger-pointing and inaction amongst city departments.

"This isn't only a sanitation issue, but also a safety and quality of life issue," he said. "The problem is that there's a complete lack of accountability and responsibility."

"And the problem that I have is: Is this really the quality of life that the residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant are subject to? Are we just going to have to accept that we're going to have open piles of garbage on a major thoroughfare that goes through the heart of our neighborhood?"

"And the other thing I would add is you would not have this problem in Park Slope, or the Upper West Side of Manhattan, or near whear the mayor lives."

"So to say that there's nothing anybody can do? I just don't buy it."