Description

Copy of email sent to Mathieu Eugene 1/18/13:

I have been a resident of your district for the past 4 years. I live at 2233 Caton Ave on the corner of Bedford, right around your district office on Linden Blvd.

I am writing to complain about an on-going issue regarding the accumulation of garbage in front of an empty lot located at 2151 Caton Avenue between Flatbush Avenue and Bedford Avenue to the right of a Laundromat located at 2149 Caton Avenue (see 3 photographs attached taken yesterday Thursday January 17, 2013). In spite of numerous complaints filed with the New York Department of Sanitation through 311, the issue invariably reoccurs within days, sometimes hours of removal of the previous batch of garbage by the Department of Sanitation or the Laundromat operators. I have seen local residents discarding anything from fastfood, beds, empty boxes, sofas and any other detritus imaginable. I have seen people urinating, even defecating in that corner. It accumulates until eventually, sometimes after filing 3 or 4 or more complaints with 311, the location is cleaned up, only to be dumped on again within hours. Given that this is before an empty lot, its owner doesn't believe it is obliged to clean the sidewalk. The Laundromat, legitimately so, doesn't think it is obliged to clean the area since it is not before its lot. Meanwhile, local residents use it as a municipal dump. It is ground for highly unsanitary conditions, particularly in the summer, attracts rodents, and reflects poorly on the neighborhood and your district. It is disgusting and no one is being held accountable for it.

I am calling on you to see that this issue is being resolved once and for all. Perhaps the owner of the lot can be found and held accountable for removing the garbage. Perhaps a poster "This is NOT a garbage dump" could be placed on the wooden fence, though I doubt anyone would comply. Perhaps your district could invest in a sidewalk cleanliness campaign to raise awareness of the issue, which is not unfortunately restricted to this corner of Caton Avenue. Whatever the solution may be, I would greatly appreciate that the issue be taken care of. A portion of my tax dollars (city and property taxes) go towards keeping our streets clean.

Thank you for your attention to this matter andI look forward to hearing from you. Best,

Eric Longo