Corner of Skillman Avenue and 43rd Street
June 24, 2016 By Michael Florio
The Parks Department will be adding three garbage cans outside Lou Lodati Park on a permanent basis following a volley of complaints about a trash problem.
The garbage cans are expected to be added today (Friday) and the plan is for them to be located adjacent to the park in the vicinity of Skillman Ave and 43rd Street, the Parks Department announced this morning.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer requested the cans about three weeks, following complaints about an influx of trash, according to his office.
“When constituents told me there was a problem with litter in the park, we sprang into action,” Van Bramer said in a statement. “I’m extremely pleased that the Parks Department responded to our requests to install additional trash cans.”
The farmers market held outside the park on Saturday mornings has been the source of much of the trash, according to Steve Callahan, who lives across the street from the park.
The apartment building where Callahan lives had been placing a trash can across the street from the park on the south west corner of 43rd Street and Skillman Avenue.
The trash can was originally placed there to help dog owners dispose of their pooch’s messes, Callahan said. However, with the added trash from the farmer’s market and general park goers, it was becoming too much for the building’s super to maintain.
Callahan said that he had reached out to the Parks Department and the Department of Sanitation in recent weeks, but was told trash cans could not be added.
Callahan said the Parks Dept. said it didn’t handle trash issues outside the park and the Department of Sanitation claimed it only handles commercial districts.
Van Bramer said that he wants constituents to reach out to his office in such situations.
“I encourage residents to call my office and alert my staff of unsanitary conditions,” he said. “I will continue to work hard every day to keep our streets and parks clean.”
Callahan’s building where garbage can was placed
Disclosure: The publisher of this news outlet lives across the street from Lou Lodati Park
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25 Comments
Disgusting and selfish people litter. There are trash cans across from where I live directly near the entrance to the N/Q Astoria Blvd subway stairs (Columbus Square) and there is still litter everywhere.
People have to want to not litter and have more respect for the community. Trash cans get full. Then what?
The native people of Sunnyside are hopeless swines. When they see a flower or a plant, they put wrappers, cans and animal or human feces underneath. Hipsterification will bring the much needed removal of those unhealthy cockroaches. Their trash belongs to the very end of the 7 line.
Bunch of babies in Sunnyside more trash cans ? What else is next water fountains?
This is good. I was walking a friend’s dog a couple weeks ago (I do from time to time) and notice most of the supers on the block had pulled their external trash cans, seemingly all at once, and the two or three cans that normally were outside or in reach of the parks were gone. Very strange.
More cans (and regular maintenance/trash removal) are helpful, period. Even if there are some people who can’t quite make it to the cans to dump their trash, it will encourage more and more people to use them when they see them.
Why worry about garbage, just put a few more cans. Problem solved. Why don’t they do something about all the cabs that take up all the parking? Green, yellow, and black cabs, some of these people have 3 of them and hog up all the spots. They should have to have off street parking like commercial vehicles. Im mean they are used for making money no?
Cabs are supposed to be parked off street but that’s a rule that seems to be rarely enforced.
And the trash problem is a problem all across Sunnyside. Everywhere I walk around the neighborhood is littered with trash. I don’t think more cans is the solution. It’s all the people who don’t give a shit or think they’re too cool to hold on to trash for a few minutes. That’s the problem.
So, if more trash cans ain’t the solution, what is? Getting rid of the people? Exchanging them for new people? You’re not a lot of help!
Absolutely. I saw a hispanic mother implore her 5 year old daughter to just throw away the plastic spoon and paper cup after eating ice cream into the street. This is what they learn. They think in America garbage men and street sweepers will clean up their mess.
The number of times I’ve seen blatant littering is staggering. I’m no racist, but they are all usually hispanic or immigrants from one place or another.
“I’m no racist, but…”
Said every overt racist ever.
I asked about that and was told that, legally, they are passenger vehicles and can park on the street.
Thank you. So overdue. All the corners along Skillman Ave. needs trash cans. There is heavy traffic to the park and farmer’s market, so all the wrappers, packaging, bottles, etc., get tossed on the street. I myself was told by Sanitation that the park ‘did not need’ trash cans. Do they ever wonder why the streets are such a mess?
Most of us, when we do not see a trash can, hold on to our trash until there’s one available. If you are implying that the people who use that park simply throw their trash on the ground instead, then I doubt trash cans are the answer. That sounds like a case where law enforcement and actual penalties are needed.
I hope JVB sees this because there are some homeless people in the area that leave their feces on the handball courts in that park. Literally, their feces.
A bigger problem in the handball courts are the people partying there at night, leaving tons of garbage every day for the guys who play handball in the morning to have to pick up
Thomas Noonan Park has problem with homeless people sleeping on benchs close to playground. This has to stop.
the volleyball people people set up tents and bbqs all day and have a 15 hour festival, no wonder theres trash all over the place
the volleyball people people set up tents and bbqs all day and have a 15 hour festival, no wonder theres trash all over the place
You obviously haven’t lived here that long, the situation within the park is a thousand times better than it used to be before the park was revitalized. the guy who has taken the helm amongst the volleyball players is doing a pretty good job of keeping the area clean.
He sprang into action??? He is so full of shit it’s not funny. We have been complaining about installing garbage cans up and down skillman Ave and all he does is blames it on the sanitation dpt. He is a liar. JVB you are pathetic.
What about cleaning up the passed out drunk homeless on that block?
With that salary bump, it’s the least JVB can do….and I mean the least.
Just be glad he doesn’t get paid by the photo. New York City would be bankrupt.
Or the tweet or Instagram post
And shops that sells lotto tickets, cigarette , candy, coffee etc. should be made by the city to supply a garbage can outside of their premises. Not defending the DSNY in any way but im sure they just can’t keep up with the amount of garbage we create. Merchants are meant to have their garbage picked up by a private contractor which some don’t and if there is a public bin outside then they use that. Observing the garbage thrown on the streets it’s all item described in the above.
awesome. Great job jvb!