Concerns over trash around the Reservoir Oval East in Norwood continue. What appear to be bags of household trash were seen and photographed between parked cars and the retaining wall around the Reservoir Oval by Wayne Avenue on July 7. The discovery follows previous complaints by residents in June of residual trash by the retaining wall seen in the same vicinity of the Reservoir Oval which some residents allege is not being regularly swept.

 

In a June letter to the editor, Norwood resident Carol Lang wrote in part “I have lived on Wayne Avenue between East Gun Hill Road and Reservoir Oval West since 1993, and since my moving into the neighborhood, the conditions have continually declined. Garbage collection is sporadic at best, and when the trucks do come down the street, they go into the middle of the road, never actually sweeping up the dirt.”

 

Lang said the weeds are overgrown, making matters worse because the weeds hold on to the garbage. “Large boxes are left so that rats can easily hide in them, and the mayor’s office sends out information, basically blaming the residents for the rats,” she said.

 

“The situation has grown so grim that the streets are broken, easily causing someone like me to fall,” she added. Lang went on to say that she, herself, did fall last year when her shoe got stuck in a street hole.

 

She added that she would be demoralized if she were a sanitation worker.

“The job is dangerous, but now it is deadly,” she said. “There are more people, and thus more rats.” Lang added that she contacted District 11 Councilman Eric Dinowitz’s office about the situation and was referred to a liaison. “He was unable to affect any change,” Lang said.

 

Norwood News reached out previously to NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) for comment on the situation when the matter was first raised via the letters to the editor in June. DSNY officials replied, saying the claims that trash collection was “sporadic at best” were not realistic, and that the trash on Wayne Avenue was collected “three times a week, like clockwork every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.”

 

The DSNY spokesperson went on to say, “After the depths of the pandemic, and the bone-deep budget cuts that came with it, Mayor Adams has invested in giving the Sanitation Department the tools we need to get our neighborhoods clean.” The spokesperson said that the following measures were implemented:

 

• “We brought back full street sweeping after the mechanical brooms had been basically confined to desk duty.
• We are running the highest level of litter basket service in history – and getting results, with overflowing litter basket complaints seeing a MASSIVE decrease year over year.
• We cut through a bureaucratic mess that had existed for decades to start cleaning more parts of the City than ever before – long-ignored areas like medians, step streets, and greenways, 1700 of them, in every neighborhood!
• We’re now managing the City’s graffiti removal program, which had been plagued by backlogs.
• We finally designed a universal composting program that, when it rolls out over the next 18 months, will truly work for all New Yorkers.
• We launched the City’s first anti-littering marketing campaign in 15 years, shaming those who steal our public space.
• We have the highest uniformed headcount in 20 years — more Sanitation Workers getting more areas clean, including the first-ever DSNY Highway Unit.
• We are enforcing against the scourge of illegal dumping, using cameras to enforce the law, and issuing $4,000 summonses.”

 

Norwood News reported on the department’s new ad campaign, launched earlier this year, to address the trash situation.

 

The spokesperson added that in addition to the measures mentioned above, in April, the Adams administration and DSNY took “a massive, massive swing at the black bags of trash,” and after decades of “that’s-just-the-way-it-is” thinking, the department changed the time trash can be placed out on the curb. He said the previous 4 p.m. set out time for trash had previously been the earliest of any major city and it had meant that trash was often left outside for more than half the day, sometimes as long as 32 hours.

The official explained, “We moved the [set-out] time [to] later, AND we moved ALL of our collection earlier. All 24 million pounds of trash are now picked up earlier every day, thanks to the work of 10,000 department employees.”

 

The official added that if photos of specific trash situations were provided, DSNY would be happy to look into them. We duly shared the photos sent to us by Lang with department officials.

Annette Porter, another Norwood resident, also sent a letter to the editor in which she said in part of the trash situation, “The sanitation department’s rote response to Carol Lang’s recent letter deploring the filth surrounding Williamsbridge Oval Park in no way addresses the issue raised. The area surrounding the retaining wall all the way around the Oval Park is often filthy with discarded debris and food wrappers and bottles, even whole meals dumped out, and the weeds have been permitted to grow into bushes that obscure parking and make cleaning up difficult.”

She continued, “While the street sweeper is able to clean the area adjacent to the sidewalk and curbs fairly well, it can’t get near the debris mentioned above. This can only be picked up/shoveled up by sanitation worker crews. Even two or three workers addressing the issue in sections could make a big difference. How do I know? I’ve taken to filling a shopping bag from the area adjacent to my car when I park. Yes, entirely filling a shopping bag with debris. If I can improve the small area next to my car, surely a well-paid worker could make a difference when regularly assigned.”

 

Porter concluded, “It is clear the mess is primarily due to individuals dumping rather than holding onto their food wrappers and bottles and such. Many of these people do not live here but come to enjoy the Oval Park. The fact of the dumping needs to be acknowledged and dealt with instead of residents being given excuses about other sites being cleaned. Clean up the area next to the retaining wall all the way around Oval Park and do it weekly.”

 

Lang was also not impressed with the response from DSNY. “Anyone who has eyes to see cannot miss the garbage that continues to pile up daily,” she said in part.

 

“The spokesperson should come around the neighborhood and look for himself and talk to some of the people who live in the area. I have been down this road before, and after calling 311, the spokesperson from the Department of Sanitation said he came and there was no garbage. Incredible! Rats have been found posing a danger, especially to children who inhabit that park.”

Lang asked where taxpayer money was going if not to cleaning the neighborhood and educating children. “I have been told by Councilman Dinowitz’ office that money is going to NGOs to ‘hire’ ex-cons to clean up the area,” she said. “Why not hire them at union wages with benefits, as opposed to giving all that money to the NGOs and only a percentage to the people who do the work?” Lang called for a Town Hall to discuss this and other issues of concern to residents.

 

Norwood News also shared the latest photo of seemingly bags of household trash left by the retaining wall of the Reservoir Oval dated July 7 with DSNY and reached out, once again, for comment. We did not receive an immediate response.

On Friday, July 14, and on a previous day in June, we also raised with DSNY the fact that there were dead rats seen around the Reservoir Oval. Both rats were removed promptly by DSNY the same day once the matter was highlighted with the department.

Norwood News also personally witnessed the DSNY sanitation trucks coming by to collect trash from the local area in the early hours of June 20 at around 1.38 a.m.

 

On Thursday, July 20, Norwood News took some photos of the same area around the Reservoir Oval by Wayne Avenue, and while there did appear to be some improvement in some areas, not all parts of the area were clear of garbage.

 

It was also unclear if the cleaned areas were due to the efforts of residents or of the Sanitation department. At least one other household bag of garbage was also seen on July 20 by the retaining wall, as was an empty box of used fireworks, potentially left there since July 4.

Meanwhile, Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP) organize regular park clean-up events each Monday, as reported in our Neighborhood Notes listings. They say volunteers are welcome to join and tools are provided. In addition, as part of the Summer Youth Employment Program, FOMP also works with students on additional clean-up events in the local area.

 

Similar clean up events have been organized in the past by Bronx Community Board 7, Bedford Park Community Association, Guerinos against Graffitti* and other parks groups, including Friends of Devoe Park, Friends of Aqueduct Walk, and Friends of the Williamsbridge Oval.

In the meantime, DSNY, The Office of the Bronx Borough President, and partners have launched the third annual summer clean-up series in The Bronx whereby volunteers who get involved in cleaning up Bronx neighborhoods have the chance to win Yankees tickets, and enjoy some free Hip Hop music along the way. Click here for more information.

 

In other DSNY-related news, the department is proposing via a public hearing to amend its rules relating to the use of certain receptacles by a chain of stores. DSNY will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule via Webex at 10 a.m. on July 31, 2023 using the following webex link and meeting number 2634 835 4444. The password is 35F83pmJf8S (35383765 from phones and video systems). Join by video system by dialing 26348354444@webex.com. You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number. Join by phone at +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll.

DSNY is also proposing via a public hearing to amend its rules regarding the residential collection of designated recyclable materials to require the source separation of organic waste. The public hearing will take place via Webex at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10, via the following webex link. The meeting number is 2632 721 0812 and the password is mMMmnBXc745 (66666292 from phones and video systems). Join by video system by dialing 26327210812@webex.com. Residents can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter the meeting number.
Join by phone at +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll with access code: 263 272 10812.

 

More details on these two hearings will be shared shortly via new articles as the details of each are quite lengthy.