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Q&A
Addressing illegal dumping, empty lots, and waste disposal on Snake Road
1:08:24
ยท
5 min
Council Member Brooks-Powers inquires about measures to address illegal dumping, maintenance of empty lots, and waste disposal issues on Snake Road. Commissioner Lojan and Deputy Commissioner Goodman respond with current efforts and potential solutions.
- DSNY reports an 18% increase in pounds of illegal dumping caught through cameras and a 40% increase in summonses
- The department is exploring relocating cameras to improve effectiveness in catching illegal dumping
- For Snake Road, DSNY acknowledges persistent issues and suggests potential collaboration with other agencies for long-term solutions like fencing
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:08:24
So the next one is the illegal dump three more.
1:08:28
Illegal dumping, what steps does sanitation take into address the persistent illegal issue of illegal dumping in our district?
1:08:36
Are there plans to increase enforcement surveillance and or penalties to deter illegal dumping?
1:08:42
And I did work very closely with then commissioner Tisch to be able to get those resources in terms of the cameras and would love to see more investment there.
1:08:51
Empty lots, how does sanitation coordinate with property owners to ensure that vacant lots are properly maintained and do not become hot spots for litter and illegal dumping?
1:09:02
You know, are there any proactive measures you all are doing with that?
1:09:05
And lastly, waste disposal on the Snake Road.
1:09:08
And when you come out to the district, I will introduce you to the infamous Snake Road and I just wanna know what the current plan for waste disposal and cleanup along that strip of roadway is.
1:09:20
It's really Brookville Boulevard but locally we call it Snake Road and are there any targeted initiatives to place, in place to prevent illegal waste buildup in this area in addition to the cameras that we were able to work together on?
1:09:33
Thank you chair.
Javier Lojan
1:09:33
Okay.
1:09:35
Hopefully
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:09:35
I'll repeat whatever you
Javier Lojan
1:09:36
want So the first question I believe was the unresolved closure of complaints.
1:09:43
So that is something that is unacceptable, and that's something that we closely look at when we have these trash dash meetings.
1:09:51
So, a lot of times we will dig into these chronic areas and we're able to see the SRs and the photos that are supplied.
1:10:01
If we see a constant chronic condition calling, the question is why is this come reoccurring?
1:10:08
And the borough command and the superintendents have to explain.
1:10:12
Sometimes there's valid reasons for it and the areas that they're not, I hold them strictly accountable.
1:10:19
So if there are areas that you are finding, I'd be glad to take those before I walk through and even after because that's something I take seriously because it's not something that I take lightly.
1:10:31
I believe the second question was about the service, the amount of time to closure.
1:10:38
So that's another thing that we've tracked is the three eleven service level agreement timeline.
1:10:45
And each three eleven SR category has different types of time frames where they able to close it.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:10:52
That's gonna be inaccurate because again we've seen that they've been closed Right.
1:10:56
Prematurely.
1:10:57
Right.
1:10:57
So you're gonna see that the time is within that frame you're looking for.
Rafael Salamanca
1:11:02
Right.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:11:02
So like there needs to be like a a qualitative method internally to to make sure that what is being closed is truly resolved.
Javier Lojan
1:11:12
Right.
1:11:13
Yeah.
1:11:13
So that that is something that if if I'd be glad to take those specific instances where you're seeing that and and I would again action those right away and and see why that's happening because that should not be happening.
1:11:26
We never tell any of our supervisory personnel to close something out just in the interest of meeting the SLA, that's something that's not accepted and that's practiced.
1:11:36
So if it's happening, it's happening in areas that's not authorized, but I'd like to get more information on that when we have time.
1:11:43
I think you also asked about legal dumping and what we're doing.
1:11:47
So I think so we've for the calendar year of 2024, we saw an increase of 18% in pounds through cameras and then a 40% increase on summonses.
1:12:06
As you know, the initial fine is $4,000 and impounding of the vehicle, and I think it's proven to be effective and I'd continue to love to continue to work with you on finding areas.
1:12:19
I think one of the things we are seeing which we are exploring with our enforcement enforcement division is areas where we're not seeing as much illegal dumping from the cameras, maybe seeing where we can move them within the district and seeing that that plays is that effective at all because obviously people get hip to it and they realize where the cameras are and they're not going there.
1:12:41
So we're we're looking to see where we can move them and how that plays out because that is something that I have noticed with our enforcement chief and we are looking to explore that.
1:12:49
And the last
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:12:50
one last question was the snake Yes.
1:12:57
So we have some cameras that are there now.
Joshua Goodman
1:12:59
I'll just say that council member, we were very aware of the persistent issues in this area.
1:13:04
I think you know chief Pitts, our chief of cleaning operations
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:13:06
basically He's amazing.
Joshua Goodman
1:13:08
He basically slept there for a month.
1:13:10
Like he was really deep in and you know it's a marshy area, you forgive me.
1:13:16
Was deep in the weeds on It's a persistent problem.
1:13:20
I think we would be interested in working with other agencies to see whether, you know, things like fencing might be appropriate in some of those areas.
1:13:27
But I completely agree with you that cleaning it over and over again is not a long term solution.
1:13:32
Although in the meantime, we will do that.