DSNY
Aug. 12, 2019 By Shane O’Brien
After a 20-year battle, the Department of Sanitation will carry out street cleaning for the first time on about a dozen neglected Astoria streets.
Street cleaning will now take place on a series of streets for the first time in the western section of Astoria. The streets are in an area roughly bound from the East River across to 21st Street, and from Astoria Park South down to Broadway.
The Old Astoria Neighborhood Association (OANA) has been advocating for street cleaning in the western section of the district for 20 years and the Department of Sanitation agreed to conduct a route study earlier this year and decided to implement a plan.
The western portion of Astoria is bound by red (Google)
The Department of Transportation began installing signage across many of these streets Monday, with street cleaning effective immediately after the signs are installed.
Richard Khuzami, President of the OANA and long-term advocate for street cleaning in Astoria, said that street cleaning would increase the quality of life in the area by improving cleanliness. He also said that the installation of street cleaning would bring an end to long-term parking in the area.
According to Khuzami, cars are often left on the side of the road for months on end.
Street cleaning will take place once a week on these designated streets on each side of the road, and will be carried out at different times of the week.
The Department of Sanitation initially proposed cleaning each side of the road twice a week, but this proposal was rejected by OANA due to the inconvenience it would cause for residents. The organization also argued that cleaning each side of the road twice a week was not necessary.
The campaign to implement street cleaning in the area was supported by Council Member Costa Constantinides and Community Board 1.
The following is a list of streets where street cleaning will be going into effect:
25th Road between 18th and 21st Street
26th Road between 18th and 21st Street
27th Avenue between 12th and 21st Streets
12th Street between Broadway and Astoria Park South
26th Avenue between 3rd Street and 2nd Street
30th Rd between Vernon and 21st Street
30th Drive between Vernon and 21st Street
30th Avenue between Vernon and 21st Street
31st Avenue between Vernon and 21st Street
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23 Comments
In driver’s perspective, if they don’t use bottles to pee, where else they can go during pandemic and does public bathrooms even open? In an environmental perspective, urine add right amount of water could turn into wonderful natural resources to nurture the ground, trees, and plants. In a New Yorker’s perspective, I live in Brooklyn for the past 14 years. Machine swiping the street created more dusts, why not add eco-enzyme to purify the air, street, water. Why not pay local people/homeless to do street cleaning and take picture and sort to hopefully motivate the change of policy for a future that everyone could happily stay alive.
The city needs to hire more sidewalk sweepers. We love those guys and want more of them.
Go after the double parkers and purveyors of filth between 28th Avenue and Astoria Blvd. These street cleaning regulations are a complete joke. These trucks do NOTHING to clean up the streets. it’s a cash grab by the city to ticket those who oversleep and miss moving their car from one side of the street to the other so a 40 year truck equipped with a dribble of water and a chewed up broom titled at a 30 degree angle can drive around the block
There’s a conveyor belt in the middle of the truck, the brooms sweep trash INTO that.
If you knew a single thing about it you wouldn’t be so outraged.
How about ticketing the filthy drivers who throw the trash out of their windows, or open their car doors (or should I say FLING open, murdering cyclists)? lets take care of the initial problem first.
If you ever see a water bottle on the street or sidewalk with yellow liquid do not touch it! A lot of taxi drivers urinate in those and then toss them out. I see them all over Astoria.
Cyclists add to all the trash on the streets. They bike through the residential areas thinking their in a marathon tossing their bottles, tissues, snacks, etc. wherever they please.
The bikers are the ones who cause all the disgrace in the town of Astoria. They intefer with cars and destroy the environment with their trash
What about the streets around Broadway that have 4 times a week and the poor residents have to move their car a ridiculous amount of times. Will they be reduced or is the ticket revenue on our backs too lucrative?
I am surprised to learn that there are streets in NYC that aren’t routinely swept – and I was born in Manhattan almost sixty-six years ago….
my pre. Why did they mark a circuit to clean if Astoria is more than that circuit?.
Cleaner Streets are coming to Westoria! We will finally be able to compete with those folks in Eastoria!
Why did it take 20 yrs ?
Because until about 5 years ago, the neighborhood was an industrial zone, super dead, and shady AF. With all the residential development going on, maybe we’ll even get garbage cans on the corner now.
Just goes to show you how a couple of idiots can ruin things for everyone.
Rudy Samflippingdo, So you and who else did this?
Cars park on the streets. Bikers are the idiots who want when moved so they push for street cleaning
Also don’t forget – while those cars are circling the block looking for parking, causing congestion and increasing risk of traffic accidents, they are also adding more tailpipe air pollution to the neighborhood.
Exactly, unfortunately for the real astorians
That needs to happen in flushing as well. It is ridiculous. People have drive ways and leave the cars on the street for days, weeks, months and don’t care. Then people come from other places go on vacation and leave their cars.
If you give people extra free parking then (unsurprisingly) they will take it. I mean, I would if I had the opportunity (and a car).
The streets will not be any cleaner. All this does is create street congestion, raise DSNY cost, and complicate life for local car owners.
“He also said that the installation of street cleaning would bring an end to long-term parking in the area.”