by David Cruz

When Norma Jean Scully peered outside her window on Feb. 20, she quickly grabbed her camera phone.  Scully had finally discovered the

man boldly dumping an oversized bag of garbage along the sidewalk of East Mosholu Parkway in broad daylight.  She let her phone roll.

Turns out it was a neighbor, fishing out mounds of refuse from the trunk of his booted car only to plop it inside a steel trashcan belonging to the city Parks Department. He later schlepped back to his apartment building at 375 E. Mosholu Pkwy, a six-story pre-war with plenty of room for discarded trash in the basement. 

Larger Dumping Trend
Scully caught a lucky break.  Never has she seen caught someone red-handed. But the incident is part of a larger trend.  For unexplained reasons, residents have frequently abandoned large, black trash bags along sidewalks filled with household heap. Discarded food, bills, and diapers is typically dumped along the sidewalks abutting the parkway, creating a dichotomous vista.

In most cases, the trash originates from the apartment buildings along East Mosholu Parkway, a tree-lined landscape that runs south from the New York Botanical Garden, snaking northwest towards the Saw Mill River Parkway. Scully has seen plenty of dumpers from 359 E. Mosholu Parkway also leave behind trash.

In one instance, she discovered one dumper came from the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx after she rummaged through abandoned trash filled with old mail. Scully later spotted a soggy trash bag at a snowy patch along the parkway, where squirrels eventually dug into it.

It’s a problem that happens year-round. Trash dumped in the summer mostly comes from neighbors from outer communities who illegally barbecue within parks despite signs reading the contrary.  Several city agencies hold oversight of the parkland, though different portions of it, often presenting a gray area when it comes to enforcement.  While trash along the grasslands is managed by Parks, and garbage on the roadways is cleaned by the city Transportation Department, the city Department of Sanitation (DSNY) picks up the garbage left in designated areas.

But in the case of the recorded litterer, Sanitation spokesman Keith Mellis noted that the dumper would still get fined regardless of where the trash was placed.

“If somebody goes down the street and they throw a bag next to a tree like this guy is doing, and we see it happening, he’s getting a violation,” said Mellis, making those comments shortly after the Norwood News forwarded the video to DSNY. It’s unclear whether inspectors were dispatched.

Mellis classified the infraction as a “throw out” since the size of the bag and quantity didn’t rise to the level of illegal dumping. Household trash is barred from being thrown inside a city-owned bin.  Should inspectors have caught the dumper in the act, he would have faced fines that range from $100 to $450 for the first offense.

Community Pride Erodes
To Scully, the parkway is part of the uniqueness of Norwood–green pastures that work as a fort hugging the leafy neighborhood. As far as Scully sees it, Mosholu Parkway is her “backyard.”

“It bothers me people have a lack of respect for a beautiful park,” she said, adding the issue demonstrates a loss of community pride. “It’s just totally trashed.”

Meantime, The Friends of Mosholu Parkland, a grassroots advocacy group, have so far served as sentinels for the park. During warmer days, members are often spotted calling out messy neighbors should they not clean up after themselves.  Elizabeth Quaranta, the group’s lead organizer, said the issue is a “huge problem and it’s too frequent.”

“Friends of Mosholu physically pick up trash before working on land conservation,” said Quaranta in an email.  “As beautiful as the parkland is, people use it as a dumping ground because they think the community does not care.”

Karma caught up to the man faster than a fine. Shortly after he was recorded a tow truck driver arrived, hooking the man’s vehicle and hauling it off. The 52nd Precinct is now keeping an eye on the area, along with inspectors with Sanitation.

Reach Editor-in-Chief David Cruz at 718-324-4998 or email dcruz@norwoodnews.org.