Dumping In Queens Highest In City

It appears the borough is littered with illegal dumpers. During a cabinet meeting last Tuesday, Queens Sanitation Department chief John Nucatola told Queens Borough President Helen Marshall that, in the past six months, a third of the cars impounded for illegal dumping citywide were in the borough.
Starting at the beginning of October and ending on April 20, 124 vehicles throughout the city were seized from dumpers caught in the act, and 43 were in Queens.
Dumping Magnet
According to Henry Ehrhadt, the Sanitation Departments deputy director for communication affairs, Queens is a convenient dumping ground because it is geographically large with plenty of highways and empty space. He noted that the traditional spots for dumpers to unload their detritus are the Rockaways, grounds near Shea Stadium and industrial areas in Long Island City.
"They tend to be a little bit desolate," he said.
Most of the culprits, said Ehrhadt, are owners of marginal businesses where profits can be razor thin. Usually they are small contractors doing construction work on a residence who are trying to cut costs by illegally dumping debris rather than cough up the fees for renting and licensing a dumpster with the department.
"They are trying to make some money and not spend some money and dispose of it properly," he said.
Ehrhadt also said that dumpers are occasionally residents getting rid of large items like old furniture which, he noted, the sanitation department would actually remove if left by the curb.
"Most residential refuse, even if its bulk, they pick it up for free," said Ehrhadt.
Collection Complications
But, Community Board 1 District Manager George Delis said things are not always that simple with sanitation workers. Using a personal story as proof, he said that sanitation workers will often refuse to remove debris from a residents curb if they think it is from a contractors work. Delis said he once left a box of broken concrete from his yard for collection, but collectors refused the refuse. Only after he contacted the borough commissioners office did it get picked up.
"Anywhere there is open land, you get dumping," said Community Board 10 District Manager Elizabeth Braton, citing the Addabbo Bridge, pockets along 55th Avenue and the Nassau Expressway and property on the fringes of JFK Airport as traditional dumper locales.
She noted that the severity of illegal dumping in her district runs in spurts, and right now it is down. Generally, she said, the dumpers are small-time contractors getting rid of sheet rock.
Delis, on the other hand, was disappointed to hear at the cabinet meeting that only four illegal dumpers in his district were caught last year. He said the problem is much worse than this small amount of violations lets on.
He identified 41st Street and Berrian Boulevard as the most problematic location in his district.
"Every weekend someone dumps there," he said, adding that this weekends left-behind rubbish was kitchen cabinets.
Manpower Issue
Delis said he tries to notify sanitation whenever he sees waste on the site, but he said that the department lacks the manpower to continually patrol the spot.
While the sanitation department does have a citywide team policing all five boroughs, it does not have a specific number allocated to patrol Queens. They are shifted by the departments director of enforcement, depending on demand.
Delis recently made one suggestion that might discourage illegal dumping.
"I told the borough president the solution is simple: every sanitation garage should have a dumpster," he said.
Under this system, small contractors would have less incentive to dump illegally, since they would not have to pay for dumpsters, just use the sanitation departments.
Those caught for illegal dumping can face huge fines, starting at $1,500 and soaring to $20,000 plus the possibility of vehicle confiscation. And they must pay the city a cleanup fee of $150 per cubic yard.
Those who want to report a pattern of illegal dumping at a location in Queens can call 311. Residents should call 911 if they spot dumpers in the act. Tips that lead to the issuance of a violation may be eligible for a reward, which could fetch as much as half the amount of the fine.