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Receieved mail on Directors@rioc.com
From: "Joelle G."
Subject: Careless Bus Driver
Date: January 7, 2012 6:33:28 AM EST
To: RIOC Board of Directors

Good morning,
Today on 1/7/12 at approx. 617am, I was picked up by a bus driver at the Octagon. He went down the 102 route & came back up to the 102 bus stop near my building. This was on bus 5, according to th number right near the entryway in the bus and on the outside of the front bus door

I was getting on the bus and the bus driver closed the door on my hand. He started to drive off as I was not even to my seat first.

So I said, 'Watch it there. That was my hand.' I didn't say it in a rude way either. He didn't say anything. No 'I'm sorry' or anything.

What makes matters worse is that I have an apparatus on my knee to help me walk. He didn't even lower the bus when I got on or when I got off.

I don't know what the deal is with some of your bus drivers but they need to be taught manners and how to deal with people.

Also, they need to be lowering the bus at all times for everyone, not just for the people who have wheelchairs or strollers. That is another thing that isn't occurring with the bus drivers across the board & I know they don't do it so that they can save time. They need to be putting safety first and most are not doing that.

Thanks for reading this and please let me know what occurs concerning this situation. I feel that this bus driver needs to be reprimanded & learn how to lower the bus & learn some manners.

Take care.

- Joelle G.

I reported this for Boerum Hill, but no one is watching those posts AND this is technically a Park Slope issue now. Here is my original post from yesterday:

For the past three days a man has been collecting trash from the city cans around the area in large black bags. At first he was storing these bags in the nook behind the MTA elevator on the sidewalk at 4th Ave. and Pacific St.

The MTA cleared out this mound of stuff and either they or the man put it behind the PC Richard building, again on the sidewalk.

Now he's actually putting his black garbage bags on the top of the garbage can at that corner and waiting for it to fill up with trash so he can then take it and store it behind the building.

This morning I observed him going through the trash from a small bag and putting it into another bag. He camps out behind the elevator and appears to be keeping more and more stuff there. Litter from his stuff is collecting around the area.

I've filed a 311 complaint for trash violation and I plan to call today about the "encampment" situation. My husband told a police officer about it on the other side of 4th Ave. this morning and the cop told him that a) it's across the street so not his jurisdiction and b) the man isn't doing anything that's "hazardous".

How is hoarding large amounts of trash on a public sidewalk not a public health hazard? We already have a rat problem on this block.

After I wrote this post, here's what happened:
Update - This man moved all of his stuff in front of our apartment building yesterday afternoon. I filed a homeless person encampment 311 complaint when I saw this after work and our super called the police.

A few hours later, he moved all back behind the PC Richard building last night. All of the garbage bags and his other items (various carts) were still there this morning - and soaked by the rain, of course.

So it continues to be an issue. The woman I spoke with from 311 said that it will be handled by the police if they are not responding to an emergency situation. This is totally unsanitary. Like I said before, we have a rat problem on this block due to the proximity of the subway and store dumpsters.
The area behind PC Richard is often occupied by homeless people who are sleeping and/or relieving themselves on the sidewalk. If the police aren't going to do anything about it, then PC Richard managers should be involved.