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Ol’ Dirty Bed-Stuy
By The Changeling | May 16, 2007
I hate having to post this, but it does reflect a reality in our neighborhood: Bed-Stuy’s got some cleaning up to do. This week an article from The Daily News comes to us courtesy of our friends at Curbed describing our neighborhood’s penchant for trashiness. Apparently Bed-Stuy and Chinatown share the distinction of being the neighborhoods with the trashiest streets.Â
Isn’t cleanliness supposed to be next to godliness? Given the overabundance of churches in this neighborhood, the streets should be so clean that we could eat off of them. To be fair, the report said that 86% of Bed-Stuy’s streets were “acceptably clean” compared to the 99% found in Staten Island (the neighborhood with the fewest trashy streets). Eighty-six percent clean doesn’t sound bad until you realize that you’re at the bottom of the list.Â
One thing that I’ve noticed is that there is a specific type of trash on the streets of our neighborhood. I’ll call it “bodega trash” for want of a better name, and it includes things like Newport and Marlboro cigarette boxes, mini [insert generic chip name here] bags, mini Cheez Doodles bags, soda bottles and cans, straws, styrofoam containers and the omnipresent black plastic bags. Â
What would it take to reduce the litter in our area? I’m convinced that by reducing the number of bodegas and fast food take-out places you’d automatically see a drastic decline in the amount of trash blowing down the street. What do you think?
May 16th, 2007 at 8:39 am
It drives me crazy when I see people unwrap something while walking along and just let the wrapper fall to the ground. And when I do point it out I just get dirty looks. Shame.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:40 am
I tried looking at people when they litter, but I think they just think I’m looking at them–you know, like I’m INTERESTED in them. Maybe my face doesn’t show enough disgust. I especially hate seeing people drop their trash when they are standing A FEW FEET FROM A TRASH RECEPTACLE.
I forgot to mention that I truly hate Lotto in all its forms. There is a considerable amount of lottery ticket/scratch-off game trash in Bed-Stuy. Consider it another reason to banish bodegas from this neighborhood.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:45 am
If you see a building that is a particularly bad offender, call 311. Ask for the Sanitation Department and request a citation be given. Kepp calling and ask your neighbors to do the same. In one extreme case I have taken to sweeping up in front of a building myself because I just couldn’t take it anymore.
May 16th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I saw a huge, dying rat on Myrtle and Nostrand a couple of weeks ago. People were all around it and no one seem to either notice it or cared. I freaked!!! When people saw my reaction, they then turned their attention towards it. We thought it was dead, one man saying it was there since 10:00 am (it was now going on 5:00 pm). 10:00 am? And no one did anything? Is that normal? Another man said someone should call 311, so I did. I called and was switched to the Department of Sanitation. While on hold, the huge dying rat started moving, and crawling along the wall, thank goodness in the opposite direction from where I was standing. Okay, yes I freaked again!! I would have climbed the wall if I could. The Dept of Sanitation said a dead or dying animal in the street was a number one priority and someone would be dispatched right away. Needless to say, four hours later no one showed up and the rat was still there. By the next day, it was gone. Changeling, I should have taken a photo for you, but I was frozen with fear.
May 16th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
I don’t think it’s the bodega’s fault, it is 100% the people. If people don’t respect their neighborhood then the problem will persist. People are always going to buy things and will always have trash, it just depends on what they do with it.
I don’t think there is a simple solution to this other than to try to get people to have a greater respect for their surroundings.
Some ideas that help:
Get property and business owners to take a more active interest in cleaning up the area in front of their properties. If they see someone litter they will be more likely to say something since they will be the ones to clean it up. Also, when people see litter they think it is ok to add more, some may not litter if things are clean.
Get community boards and/or businesses and other groups to sponsor more trash cans in areas where they are lacking. More cans means a greater chance that people will use them.
Implement BIDs to provide supplemental street and sidewalk cleaning services. This is probably the hardest to implement as it requires a bunch of business owners to pony up some cash to get it done.
May 16th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Get rid of the bodegas, get rid of the fried chicken joints and get rid of the chinese food joints. More thrash cans would be good and considering we have alternate side of the street parking five days a week when Pk Slope has it two maybe the Sanitation dept. might take the opportunity to sweep the streets.
May 16th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
this is my number one pet peeve of this neighborhood. I live on lafayette at bedford, for those who don’t know, and its always gross on both lafayette and this end of dekalb (especially.) When it gets warm, the streets smell like sh*t. This neighborhood could really attract WAY more people (even with the graffiti) if it was a little bit cleaner.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
I did try to get more trashcans on my block by requesting them through the city website last summer, but I haven’t seen any additional cans. I wasn’t aggressive enough in the follow-up.
I’m with Leo on ridding Bed-Stuy of take-out and bodegas. I know that this is an impossible dream, but let’s face it, these places sell unhealthy food to poor people who patronize them because they are conveniently located on every corner. If they were removed from this neighborhood it would benefit residents’ health and wallets.
Since I don’t have a car I wasn’t aware that we have alternate side of the street parking five days/week in this neighborhood. Is that really true? Why? I thought the purpose of alternate side parking was for street cleaning.
I really like the Lafayette/Bedford area. I hadn’t noticed that there were litter problems over there.
I agree with Ben that you have to create a norm of cleanliness and then people will realize that it is not alright to drop trash on the ground in this neighborhood. For this norm to be created, there has to be regular (read: daily) sidewalk and street cleaning.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
i recently called 311 to request a garbage can on our corner of bedford & greene. when i did so, the woman from dept. of sanitation told me that they keep records on the number of requests coming in, and will provide cans based on demand—so, let’s go people!! call 311 and ask for more garbage cans on those corners that don’t have them. it seems pretty simple. i’ll call again tomorrow.
May 17th, 2007 at 9:50 am
the whole street-sweeping thing is supposed to be based on need. so, if bed stuy streets get dirty faster, the street sweeper comes more often and thus cars have to be moved all the time. in park slope the streets are generally cleaner, so fewer visits from the streetsweeper and its extra-sticky violation stickers. in theory, there are streets that are never visited by the sweeper, but i have never lived or seen these fabled avenues.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
You are incorrect Jimmylegs it has to do with proximity to commercial corridors i.e. 7th ave or Fulton st.; Union in Park Slope is commercial and they are two days a week and in Bed Stuy we have not one such street. For your information here in Bed Stuy we had to move our cars six days a week that was Mon. thru Sat. at the same time in other areas they had to move their cars twice a week. Take a ride to Ocean Pkwy and Ave. P and notice in that area also they are at two days a week.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Mostly it’s the people who are actually doing the dumping of trash on the street.
But it really is also the business’ fault and also the DOS themselves.
When I buy a bottle of water at a bodega, there’s no need for a paper bag and a straw. I don’t know anyone who drinks their Poland Spring with a straw… especially when they come with that nifty sport-cap.
And I don’t know WHY I keep seeing McDonald’s wrappers all over on Halsey, Hancock and Putnam around Stuyvesant and Malcolm X. The closest McD’s is on Fulton way over by Throop. Even though I don’t think we need an artery-clogging, diabetes-inflicting, paper-wasting establishent such as McD’s in the neighborhood, somehow I don’t think the trash is blowing all the way over from the restaurant. Chalk that one up to the sorry souls who actually eat that crap.
Not to make too dramatic an example of it, but in many other countries (ie: Germany, Singapore, etc.) they make it the responsibility of the company producing the garbage to remove it.
For example, in Germany, consumer electronics companies (among others) are required to provide and pay for the recycling of the machines they manufacture. You just call a phone number and they pick it up and recycle it for you. If they don’t, they get fined heavily. Here you’re lucky if they even pick up the recycling at all, much less provide that public service.
And in Singapore - well they take it to an extreme, but we’ve all probably heard the stories of people getting jailed, caned, etc. for littering. I’m not in favor of corporal punishment, but if they handed out more tickets to litterers, there wouldn’t be any.
And in my final gripe, why is there always MORE trash on the street after the street sweepers come by? Last week I saw one with it’s spinning brushes kicking debris from the gutter UP onto the sidewalk (and I’m sure they promptly came around and ticketed the homeowners for it).
May 18th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
The trucks are supposed to use water when they sweep, but they don’t fill up at the pump.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:51 am
Bed Stuy residents (especially the kids) throw paper as if that is what one does. This is a cultural problem related to a host of other cultural problems. Imagine eating a bag of chips and simple throwng the bag on the ground when you are done. It is so sad.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:57 am
Sigh…. this is my BIGGEST pet peeve in Bed Stuy. I live on Putnam and love my street but my nightly ritual is picking up random wrappers in the flower bed and paper bags before I go in.
Sorry folks this is not the take out place’s fault. I lived in Clinton Hill and not much litter. It is a mentality and a mindset of some BEd Stuy residents, unfortunantely.
How do we change it? Perhaps bi-weekly or monthly beautification on each block? When I am out there tending to the flower bed people comment, take pride and love I am doing something to make the block look better. If they see people out there sweeping and picking up trash, they may join in? I dunno… Again this is my biggest pet peeve and “each one teach one” if I see a kid throwing trash on the floor I tell them to please throw it away and show them where the trash can is. They see me out there every night afterwork picking up the mess and I hope in time they will stop it!
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I forgot to add that homeownership has something to do with keeping Bed Stuy clean… Often if folks dont feel they have a bested interest in their community and rent, they may not take as much pride… Not always the case - I rented in Clinton Hill and never littered… But that may be some of the reasoning. I really would love a solution I HATE seeing litter or spitting on the street so much
May 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Our block organized a block clean-up day (we have had two this year). On Saturday morning all of the residents(mostly the homeowners) got out picked up every single piece of trash on the block. Picking up leaves and sticks was optional as everyone knows it is trash that brings the block down. If you can mobilize merley 6 people it will only take about 90 minutes on the average Bed Stuy block. Some people think that it is not a good idea because you end up cleaning up other people’s mess but I believe that it sets a tone that the people of the neighborhood will not tolerate mess and trash. Our next step, if I have my way, is to start reporting business owners to the city who have a lot of trash in front of their business.
I suggest that people all over Bed Stuy begin organizing block clean-ups as it is the fastest and best way to clean up the neighborhood and set a tone. The politicians won’t do it unless you hit them over the head with it and it is an election year, so it is up to the residents. It may also indirectly reduce some crime as people will get the sense that the block with the people constantly cleaning may not be the best block to sell drugs.
May 24th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Let us organize a clean up Bed Stuy day; how about June 16th - gives us time to get the word out.?
May 24th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
These are wonderful ideas. I’m game, and June 16th is as good a day as any. Should we attempt to organize simultaneous block clean-ups that day? I think I could find a few interested souls on my block.
May 25th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Let us call it a date. I will inform members of the business community and other neighbors, and everyone who reads this can help spread the word.
May 28th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
This is my first time on this blog. It’s nice, however i am upset to see the way some people overreacted on the subject. I don’t believe that getting rid of Bodegas, fried chicken and chinese joint it’s the answer. It’s so easy. Bed-stuy is not Clinton Hill, i might be wrong but most of the people who moved to Bed-stuy now did because they cannot afford to rent or buy in Clinton Hill. You are in the Hood, this is a reality. Bed-stuy will get better, safer and cleaner, but it will not happen overnight. In order to get there, people need to be proactive and not dismiss what Bed-stuy is about.
I like the idea of the block clean-ups day. I’m glad to see that some people take action. Well done David McGruder.
May 28th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
We’re all for being proactive. Now that the date is set I’ll create a post to discuss the particulars. It’ll be posted Tuesday, May 29th.