DSNY
Sept. 14, 2018 By Tara Law
A number of civic leaders are hosting a clean up in Astoria Sunday– as they call on the Sanitation Department to introduce street cleaning in order to tidy up several garbage-strewn streets.
The organizers— the Old Astoria Neighborhood Association, Family Church, Astoria Houses Residents Association and Council Member Costa Constantinides— aim to press the Sanitation Department to sweep the streets of the western section of Astoria twice a week
Volunteers will gather to share a free lunch at 12:00 p.m. at Family Church, located at 26-13 18th St.
The cleaners will break into five groups, which will be assigned to streets between Hallets Point and Socrates Sculpture Park. The volunteers will then reconvene at the Church at 3:30 p.m.
Richard Khuzami, president of the Old Astoria Neighborhood Association, said that street cleaning would have two major benefits for the neighborhood— making the streets cleaner and compelling cars parked in the area for weeks or months at a time to move.
However, Khuzami said, under the Department of Sanitation’s current policy, the streets would need to be cleaned four times a week (twice on each side), which would inconvenience neighborhood residents by forcing them to move their cars too frequently.
In August 2016, Khuzami’s group sent a petition to the Department of Sanitation specifying that the community wanted the streets cleaned twice a week. However, the cleaning was never put in place because the department insisted that it was its policy to clean similar streets four times weekly.
Sunday’s street cleaning event is intended to persuade the Department to reconsider the proposal to clean the streets twice a week, Khuzami said.
The policy would be a “perfect compromise, not disrupting people’s lifestyles,” said Khuzami.
Bags, brooms, and gloves for the project will be donated by R and R General Supply, which is located at 1807 Astoria Blvd.
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7 Comments
There’s no bigger waste of money than street cleaning.
The sweepers almost never spray water, which they are supposed to, so all they essentially do is blow dust and garbage elsewhere.
If people weren’t disgusting slobs, than garbage wouldn’t be in our streets to begin with. Maybe campaign your neighbors to not be gross rather than want DSNY to come by with their useless, emissions spewing street sweepers.
For as long as I can remember, the street sweepers just kick up garbage from the street onto the sidewalks, cigarette butts and broken car window glass, worthless.
There’s a conveyor belt inside that collects trash.
Maybe there’s a conveyor belt with a little hamster in your head? The spinning brushes on the side, they love adjusting their angles and making small trash particles like broken car window glass and cigarette butts hit the sidewalks and even the front doors of residential buildings. Seen it numerous times, they see the trash up ahead in the street, then they angle the brushes upwards which sends it upwards and away, they’re the biggest jerks.
Many thanks for the great article on this important quality of life issue in Old Astoria. I just wanted to give shout out to the Family Church and their pastor Lucas Izidoro. They are hosting the event and when we were discussing the street cleaning issue in the neighborhood Lucas came up with the street cleaning idea. Their commitment to civic improvements is essential and should be recognized.
So happy to hear that. As a native Astorian I know how beautiful it is there. Wishing to return one day.
I agree with the gentleman that stated, people are the ones that need to change and stop littering!!!!!
Astoria was a beautiful place to grow up in and we DIDN’T have that problem because we cared about our community. I give props to the leaders of the community church because, at last someone noticed the problem and is trying to make a diiference . If your so upset about it Mr. Anonymous, MOVE. It’ll be one less litterer.