Gathering on a busy corner street in Richmond Hill Tuesday, local legislators announced that a new bill, if passed, will mean the city will begin to crack down on individuals illegally dumping into public trash containers in Queens.
On Tuesday, City Council members Peter Vallone, Jr, Eric Ulrich and Karen Kozlowitz introduced legislation that will increase fines on those caught dumping household or commercial waste in public trash containers.
Noting that she, Ulrich and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley had put in money for extra garbage pickups along Jamaica Avenue, Kozlowitz called the dumping of waste in front of businesses along such busy streets “unacceptable.”
The new legislation will increase fines on violators to $200 for the first offense, then to $500 for the second violation within any twelve month period and $600 for a third incident. Currently, the fine is $100 for the first offense.
Ulrich noted that garbage has been piling up on streets like Jamaica, Liberty and 101st avenues since the city cut back on the amount of litter baskets and the days those baskets would be emptied.
Despite pooling together money for extra garbage pickups, Ulrich said the same offenders still continue to pile trash along streets, which he said was having a negative impact on local business owners by discouraging shoppers from buying at nearby stores due to the slum-like appearance of affected blocks.
“Garbage is a bipartisan issue, not a Democratic issue, not a Republican issue,” he said.“It’s an issue that impacts people in a very negative way.”
According to recent city Department of Sanitation (DOS) figures, illegal dumping in corner baskets has been a problem. The department, whose enforcement division conducts regular patrols and surveillance to catch violators, issued 3,681 summonses across the city in 2011 for improper use of city-owned litter baskets.
Vallone, who said that he had also seen a public garbage bin in front of his own office last week stuffed to the brim with commercial waste, said the legislation is supposed to act as a deterrent.
Reaching behind him and holding up a large, empty flat screen TV box—part of garbage illegally dumped along Jamaica Avenue—Vallone said that due to the actions of violators, who he called ‘litter pigs,’ businesses also risked getting fined for having overflowing garbage on the side walk.
“[It’s] all because of these litter pigs who are too stupid to figure out when their garbage pickup days are in front of their house, or are just trying to avoid paying to have their commercial garbage picked up,” he said. “This is outrageous.”
Vallone also encouraged residents to report such instances of people dumping household or commercial waste into public waste baskets to the sanitation department.
City Councilwoman Letitia James, who is also chair of the Sanitation Committee on the city council, added, “It is important to hit individuals where it hurts—their pockets.”
Latchman Budhai, a local resident and member of Community Board 9, gave his support of the bill, adding that commercial dumping along the streets has gone on long enough.
“We need to have a neighborhood where we can live like decent people instead of rats running in and out of the garbage,” he said.
By Jean-Paul Salamanca
Forum Newsgroup Photo by Jean-Paul Salamanca
jp.salamanca@theforumnewsgroup.com
