Garbage on street

[Brian]

I hear people openly complain about graffiti but what about garbage on streets.  As we all know, the 73rd street and 74th street between 37th ave and 35th ave is filled with garbage.  Subway entrance on 73rd and 37th Road gives really bad impression for people who just arrived Jackson Heights.  Yet, people  are afraid to openly complain about the situation on 73rd and 74th street probably because they don't want to be considered to be attacking one ethnic group.  But the street is shared by everybody and people should respect the public space. If a certain ethnic group does not have a civic sense and not respect the public, I believe it should be criticized and they should learn to respect others.    I would like to hear your opinion.

[toddg]

Please address the problem without making baseless and offensive inferences about ethnic groups.

In fact, there are plenty of people who are not afraid to address the problem.  Instead of insulting their neighbors, they are actually working together to solve it.  The problem stems from the fact that this is a very busy and crowded commercial district, and the level of sanitation service the city provides is not adequate to keep the area clean.  The Western Jackson Heights Alliance, the 74th Street Merchants Association, and other groups are working to raise funds to address it.

Why don't you volunteer to help them out?

[Brian]

The last time I heard was  the 74th street Merchants Association is not working with Western Jackson Heights.  Just ask Will Sweeny to make the fact straight. And it seems like they refused to form the BID since they don't want to spend any money for community. 

>and the level of sanitation service the city provides is not adequate to keep the area clean. 

I disagree.  I am not talking about garbage can being full.  I am talking about things like stylefone box with chicken and rice thrown on the streets.   How can you blame city for such garbages?  Yes, we can raise the money and have somebody else clean the streets.    But why can't  we individuals respect the public and each individuals takes responsible for the garbage?  All I am proposing is that

Current situation:

Pedestrian has trash.
Releases fingers.
Trash falls on ground.
Creates eyesore.

Proposed situation:
Pedestrian has trash.
Walks a few extra steps to trash can.
Releases fingers OVER trash can.
Pedestrian no longer has trash.
Street still clean.


Todd, I believe there is difference between being a racist and respecting public.  All i am trying to have people respect public.   

[toddg]

You sure have a funny way of earning their respect!

[Brian]

You sure have a funny way of earning their respect!

sorry I don't get it.  what do you mean?

[toddg]

If a certain ethnic group does not have a civic sense and not respect the public, I believe it should be criticized and they should learn to respect others.

I was suggesting that if you want your neighbors to work with you on solving a common problem, perhaps you should show some civility and respect in return.

As for the litter problem, in a busy and crowded commercial district, there will always be a higher concentration of individuals who litter and engage in other antisocial behavior.   And the merchants and their customers aren't the only ones to blame.  These streets also happen to be a major corridors for neighborhood commuters walking to the subway as well.   And, there's a whole late-night economy over on 73rd Street as well, as people on the midnight shift drive by the neighborhood for some street vendor food.

So what are we going to do about it?  WJHA is working on getting some dedicated maintenance staff; if you have any ideas for what a public awareness campaign might look like, please share them.

[flt]

I would love to see a "Don't Litter" program in the public schools, especially the elementary schools. I do think there is a cultural element (although I think it applies to quite a few cultures) where it is considered more permissible to litter. It would be great to have kids influencing their parents to change their ways. This is New York City, and a certain amount of litter is inevitable, I suppose, but it would be nice to try to minimize it. It also seems like bags of garbage are often ripped open in the morning along 74th Street, which doesn't help.

I so vividly remember the "crying chief" ad of my youth, and it's kind of interesting that there seem to be no anti-litter public service ads anymore. I wonder why?

I know the Doe Fund was working on some streets, but I don't think there was funding for a full-time Doe Fund. I am not sure if this comes from grant money, but maybe that could be explored. My understanding is the majority of 74th Street property is owned by one landlord who does not feel the need to contribute to a BID.

[JD]

The garbage problem goes beyond 74th street. In fact I think 82nd street is far dirtier. 37th ave and Roosevelt are also dirty.

Most people make an effort to throw their garbage away, however the trash cans provided by the city are often overflowing. It is sort of like playing Jinga, you have to think about how to add your trash into the pile without causing it to collapse. The city could should empty the cans more frequently.

[toddg]

I so vividly remember the "crying chief" ad of my youth, and it's kind of interesting that there seem to be no anti-litter public service ads anymore. I wonder why?

Those commercials were great!

They were paid for by Keep America Beautiful, an anti-litter group started by the packaging industry.  The group is still active. 

[Dawnie]

I totally agree with what Brian said about 74th St., it is very dirty and I doubt the comment was meant to sound racist.  I have lived in JH for 32 yrs and 74th St like 82nd St has always been filled with commercial stores.  The difference between now and then is now its filthy and then the people who owned those stores kept there streets cleaned and the community didn't come together to keep it clean for them.  I really feel people do not care as much now as they did years ago.  Now, its all about someone else keeping the street clean?  What about the people who own or rent these stores?  Shouldn't they help to clean the street they have there business on?  Todd, I think we should stick to the Topic of keeping the street clean and not trying to make this sound "racist".

[Shelby2]

I think if the OP wanted to simply talk about the problem of garbage on the street and what to do about it, he would not have mentioned that he feels one certain ethnic group is responsible for the problem. 

I agree with both Dawnie and Todd - if the topic is  garbage on the street, then let's talk about garbage on the street and how to solve the problem, and not bring race and ethnicity into the equation.

[koku]

Shelby, I think in this case, cultural difference is a part of problem.   What Brian is saying is let's face it and try to solve it rather than disregarding it as complaint from racists. 

I had to disagree with Todd's approach of "having someone else keeping the street clean".  It is not a fundamental solution to the problem on 74th street.
So what can we do?  One of the solution can be to raise the awareness for store owners and shopper there.  But how??  Teaching kids in school is one thing we can do.  But it is gonna take too long time to see the effect.  Any idea?  maybe launch some kind of campaign with the help of community board or JHBG??   Or have marchants form BID?
 

[Chuckster]

I totally agree with what Brian said about 74th St., it is very dirty and I doubt the comment was meant to sound racist.  I have lived in JH for 32 yrs and 74th St like 82nd St has always been filled with commercial stores.  The difference between now and then is now its filthy and then the people who owned those stores kept there streets cleaned and the community didn't come together to keep it clean for them.  I really feel people do not care as much now as they did years ago.  Now, its all about someone else keeping the street clean?  What about the people who own or rent these stores?  Shouldn't they help to clean the street they have there business on?  Todd, I think we should stick to the Topic of keeping the street clean and not trying to make this sound "racist".

Dawnie, you make a valid point.  74th and 82nd Streets, along with 37th Avenue, have always been busy commercial areas.  I remember the days when shopkeepers swept and hosed down streets immediately after opening in the mornings.  Some would actually come out equipped with buckets and long handled scrub brushes to scrub the sidewalks directly in front of their shops.  Two summers ago, I approached the large food market on 74th Street to complain about the foul odor on the sidewalk in front of the store.  I suggested that it needed to be hosed down.  The guy basically told me that no one else had complained about it, so therefore, nothing needed to be done.  I asked him if he smelled it, and he just smiled and walked into the store.

[Dawnie]

Thanks Chuckster. I think by what you said is the problem, no one hoses the streets or sidewalks off anymore with boiling water and soap.  It is so easy to do and so helpful for people who live or shop in the neighborhood.  It's a shame!  And I agree with you about the foul smell, every morning I gag from the smell!!
  Not a good feeling!!!!   

[buddy]

If a certain ethnic group does not have a civic sense and not respect the public, I believe it should be criticized and they should learn to respect others.    I would like to hear your opinion.

All right, here's my opinion:  I don't think it can be entirely blamed on someone's ethnicity. Although I do think that where and how you were brought up certainly affects how you see and treat the environment you work and live in.   I see all different people toss garbage while walking down the street or out their car window.  Tonight, while walking my dog, I saw a young couple hanging out and he was peeing on the garage door of the Co-op across the street.  She was hysterical laughing.  That has nothing to do with ethnicity.  It has everything to do with culture or lack of it. And respect/consideration for one's neighbors or, again, lack of.   It seems like our collective consciousness is broken.  And I don't know how to fix it. I used to get so angry over this (and other things like this) and now it just makes me sad.  I don't litter. I'll carry an empty coffee cup for blocks until I find a garbage pail. I don't think criticizing people teaches them respect.  It just makes them angry.  Some neighborhoods have organizations that clean up the area.  I'm guessing the merchants pay for that.  I wonder why the Jackson Heights business district (which would be along 37th Ave. and take in 82nd, 73rd, 74th Streets at least) doesn't have one or has one but it doesn't seem to make a positive impact on keeping the areas clean.  Anyone know?  Because I do feel the merchants should keep their sidewalks and gutters clean.