It is finally clean-up time.
Commercial corridors and other problem areas for litter and dumping around Sheepshead Bay will receive daily wastebasket pick up and increased sanitation services starting this week, according to the local pol who pushed for the extra trash collection to keep up with the neighborhood’s population boom.
“When you take into account the increase in population and our environment we need to be up to par with the resources that our sanitation department needs,” said Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D–Sheepshead Bay).
The upgraded service will include seven-days-a-week corner wastebasket collection on commercial corridors as well as extra attention from the Department of Sanitation in known problem areas, such as pedestrian plazas and under train nestles in the area.
The business districts that will now be receiving corner wastebasket collections every day are:
• Avenue M
• Kings Highway
• Avenue U
• Sheepshead Bay Road
• Brighton Beach Avenue
• Neptune Avenue
Problem areas for dumping and litter that will now be receiving extra attention from the Department of Sanitation include:
• Under train trestles (from Avenue M to Avenue Z)
• Pedestrian islands on Emmons Avenue
• The Pedestrian plaza on Sheepshead Bay Road
• Brighton Beach Avenue, between Ocean Parkway and Brighton 16th Street
• Along the train path from West 5th Street to West 6th Street, across from West Brighton Avenue
The sanitation service increase come as a welcome improvement for the residents and businesses in the neighborhood, according to community honchos.
“A lot of our commercial strips are really becoming filthy,” said Theresa Scavo, chairwoman of Community Board 15. “This is going to do the trick and will make the avenues a little more welcoming.”
The more available wastebaskets are dotted around busy thoroughfares, the better, said one Sheepshead Bay community organizer who has been a longtime advocate for increased waste collection in the area.
“Some communities have been taking away litter baskets, but the fact is that if there’s a basket people are more likely to use it and not throw their litter on the ground,” said Bay Improvement Group president Steve Barisson.
Businesses along Sheepshead Bay Road have complaining about the trash problem for years. In 2015, small businesses told local councilmen, including Deutsch, that ubiquitous litter contributed to an unwelcoming atmosphere that was hurting business.
“The trash piles up all the time, especially over the weekend, so it’s a mess,” Barisson said. “So the fact that the councilman said he’s going to take care of the pedestrian malls such as the one on Emmons Avenue is awesome.”
The increased service will address the unsightly trash overflowing onto the streets and make for a better atmosphere for everyone, Scavo said.
“We’ve heard from business owners and residents constantly that the baskets have been overflowing over the years, asking why they aren’t picked up more often,” Scavo said. “So with the funding now, this will be taken care of.”
