Shopping strips in Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village will soon receive a major spring cleaning.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley previously wrote to the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to request that the commercial corridors in the confines of Community Board 5 — Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood, Myrtle Avenue in Glendale, Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood, Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village and Grand Avenue in Maspeth — be included in the city’s CleaNYC plan.
Last week, she received good news.
“While many of the litter baskets already receive service on Sundays and holidays,” Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia wrote in a letter to Crowley. “I am pleased to inform you that because of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s CleaNYC initiative, all baskets within the major commercial corridors outlined above now receive Sunday and holiday collection service.”
The mayor’s CleaNYC initiative aims to increase the efforts of Graffiti-Free NYC, while increasing sidewalk power washing in commercial corridors, as well as expanding Sunday and holiday litter basket collection service and highway shoulder and ramp cleanup.
“My thanks to the Sanitation Department for following up on this concern,” Crowley said. “I look forward to working with them to ensure our streets stay clean for the hundreds who travel them every day.”
In her request Crowley also called for the replacement of trash bins along Fresh Pond Road, which were removed last year in order to prevent their chronic misuse; as several of them were often used to drop off commercial and household garbage.
DSNY denied that request, stating that the department had seen improved conditions where the trash bins had been removed.
“Since their removal, district personnel have reported significantly cleaner conditions along Fresh Pond Road,” Garcia wrote. “While there are still some corner locations where illegal drop-offs occur, the number of such locations has diminished dramatically when compared to past years. As a result, it would not be advisable to replace those baskets, as it would likely counter the improvement in cleanliness observed.”
