By Madina Toure
State Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) is calling on the city Department of Sanitation to address illegal advertising throughout Fresh Meadows.
In a letter dated July 13 to Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, Rozic requested an investigation and immediate removal of unsolicited commercial ads posted across Fresh Meadows detailing sewer cleaning services.
“The sewage infrastructure in Fresh Meadows is outdated and does not reflect the increase in neighborhood demand,” Rozic said. “The uptick in sewage cleanup ads on residential streets are not only illegal but also take advantage of a precarious situation that needs to be addressed by the city.”
Residents informed Rozic’s office of a sudden increase in ads being posted illegally on city streetlights and lampposts by Liberty Developer USA, Inc., a company in South Ozone Park.
The sticker ads listing a telephone number for a “24 hours sewer service” can be found in residential areas between 164th Street and 188th Street from the Long Island Expressway to Union Turnpike.
Rozic said she has been working with the city Department of Environmental Protection to mitigate the flooding crisis that causes homeowners to invest in expensive repairs due to sewer overflows.
She also urged residents who spot the street ads in the neighborhood to call her district office after filing a complaint with a 311 call.
Jim Gallagher, president of the Fresh Meadows Homeowners Association, said residents were “totally disgusted” by the ads.
He said he thinks multiple people were involved and that it took place at night.
“It gives you an address of a two-family house in South Ozone Park, not too far from Aqueduct Race Track, so why is he coming all the way over here to advertise in that particular way?” Gallagher said. “It’s very hard for Sanitation to get them off because of the heavy glue that’s on the poster and when you take the glue off, off comes the paint. That’s no way of advertising.”
Liberty Developer hung up the phone when asked to comment.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
