BrooklynQ sent in this photo of the newest art installment at the Gravesend Neck Road train station. Seeing this brings on one of those heartwarming moments where you’re oh-so-happy that they’re raising fares again so they can keep putting in new benches, and providing fresh canvases for Sheepshead Bay’s prolific artists.
All righty, people… caption contest? Yes, I think so. What’ve you got for this photo?
This aesthetically pleasing yet ethically enraging photo was captured by BrooklynQ. Can you guess the underpass? It should be a difficult one, since every underpass beneath the B/Q train in our area looks the same way.
One of the neighborhood places that’s doubling as a receptacle for illegal dumping is the municipal lot on Avenue Z and East 17th Street. The spot is maintained by DOT, so garbage is removed fairly frequently. But in between pickups, you can almost always find garbage bags and empty boxes there.
Well, one quick-thinking business owner decided to take advantage of her proximity to the lot. Looking to save money on pickups, she’s started dropping off her stuff here. But the genius made one mistake: leaving labels on the trash that clearly show her business name and address.
Keep reading to see what business has been dumping illegally.
Welcome to a new Sheepshead Bites feature – Garbage Gazette. The idea is very simple. From time to time we’re going to run a series of photos from one of Sheepshead Bay’s main commercial strips. Today we’re looking at Sheepshead Bay Road between East 14th Street and Jerome Avenue, where the problem of overflowing public trash bins appears to be the worst in the neighborhood. As you’ll see in the photos, the four cans underneath the train station are the most problematic.
In late June, it was announced that beginning July 1 the city would be increasing pickups. It appeared they were for a few weeks, but the problem is back to normal. These photos – taken today around noon – show that they haven’t been emptied all weekend.
In addition to the nine garbage cans in the stretch we mentioned, the last shot is of East 14th Street and Avenue Z. The city added a new can there in the middle of July. The spot was previously litter free, but the can overflowed within days and the corner became another problem spot. After we did two posts on the can during its first week there, the can was abruptly removed and the spot is once again litter free.
Have you had enough of this problem? After the jump, we’re including a list of officials that you should contact to complain about the mess in Sheepshead Bay. Department of Sanitation has a complaint form specifically for overflowing litter baskets. I filled it out and received an automated response saying, “Your request will be acted on promptly.” We’ll see about that…
See the photos of garbage on Sheepshead Bay Road, and get the list of reps to write and/or call.
Over on this week’s open thread, Supafly10579 asked how to keep the bottle collectors out of her yard. This, of course, spurred a discussion that’s come up a few times before in the comments – i.e. readers think these people are a nuisance.
Someone linked to the video above, which shows one of these bottle collectors locked in a fierce argument with a customer service employee at Stop & Shop. She is being banned because she places labels from returnable bottles on nonreturnable bottles, bilking the store out of money.
It’s been just two days since this garbage can appeared on Avenue Z and East 14th Street, and it’s already overflowing. Residential pickup for East 14th Street is Tuesdays and Fridays, so this can should have been emptied yesterday. It wasn’t.
But beyond the Sanitation Department’s failure to deliver service, we’re getting to witness a very interesting phenomenon with this newly placed trash bin. This corner was previously garbage free. Sure, you had the occasional drifting plastic bag or paper cup, but compared to the sidewalk around the train station, it was positively speckless.
As you can already see in the photo above, that’s changing. Trash from the packed can is falling onto the sidewalk, soon to be taken for a ride by a gust of wind.
No can, no garbage in the streets. Give a can, it’s trash city.
Graffiti underneath the train overpasses is nothing new, but I saw this piece of street art up today in a few locations. Could it be a new artist is plastering the area? Or is our favorite Red Fish Smoking back with some new installments? It certainly looks to be in his style, and is the same sort of sticker he’s been using for some time. Is it wrong that I actually kind of like this one?
A new Sanitation Department litter basket appeared on the corner of East 14th Street and Avenue Z this morning, making us wonder if the agency is finally showing concern for the torrent of trash pouring daily onto Sheepshead Bay’s streets.
At the same time, we’ve heard from a smattering of residents that the new garbage pickups that went into effect on July 1 has been improving the situation.
Have you noticed any new garbage cans in your area? Has the situation improved since July 1?
Last week’s Community Board 15 meeting was the final one before summer recess. To mark the occasion, board member and Manhattan Beach resident Manhattan Beach Community Group boardmember Stan Kaplan riffed on a number of topics. [UPDATED]
I like Stan. Although he can never remember what blog I’m from, he cares a lot for the community while also having a sense of humor about the issues it faces. So keep in mind that Stan’s rant is light-hearted, while also touching on some serious topics.
And those topics are:
Correction: The original version of this article indicated Kaplan is a boardmember of Community Board 15. He is not; he is on the board of the MBCG for more than 30 years, and a member of MBNA and Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association. We apologize for the confusion.
I spotted this guy cruising down Emmons Avenue last week. Though abundant in Manhattan and Northern Brooklyn, it’s the first time I’ve seen a bicycle billboard – or any mobile advertisement – in our neck of the woods. So it made me wonder about the neighborhood impact if more of the bipedal bulletins show up on our streets.
On the one hand, it appears to be a “green” alternative to other forms of mobile advertisements, like truck-side advertising. And it’s more affordable for our local small businesses than traditional billboards, boosting our local economy.
But I’ve heard complaints about this form of advertising before. It contributes to “visual pollution,” man-made impediments to enjoying a view. The issue of outdoor advertising is so pervasive in Manhattan that critics say it’s dulled our perception of a once beautiful city, creating a power shift from creativity to consumerism.
They may also add to congestion, since these unwieldy bikers will want to be seen on bustling commercial corridors. Their wider frames could clog bike lanes, putting cyclists in danger.
So what do you think? Are these advertisements bad for the neighborhood, or do the benefits outweigh the problems?
