By Virginia Valerio
Garbage has been piling up at the Frederick Douglass Houses in recent weeks, a long-term issue that was exacerbated when a trash compactor broke down. The compactor was fixed a couple of weeks ago, according to the New York City Housing Authority, and they’re working on ways to stop the build-up. But the larger issue of inadequate trash collection, one resident says, has been going on for years despite residents’ complaints.
The Frederick Douglass Houses, a NYCHA development, run from West 100th to 104th street. A total of 17 buildings with 2,054 apartments are scattered throughout the complex.
One resident who contacted us says that the city has too few garbage receptacles at the project, and NYCHA has been unresponsive when asked to increase the number of trash cans in the neighborhood.
“There is a constant situation of strewn garbage in and around the Frederick Douglass Housing Complex,” she wrote. “I have emailed 311 and called constantly for years.”
There are no trash cans even in heavily used areas including a playground next to a day care center. The trash build-up has allowed rats to flourish in the area.
“Walking through the complex last week, I was so upset about it, it reminded me of an area in a different country where people are living in a dump,” the woman said later in an interview. “Garbage bags are piling up in front of the building. People rip the bags, which causes trash to disseminate over the complex and in surrounding streets. Trash reaches Central Park. Whoever is in charge of picking the garbage bags isn’t doing it. Because of the situation, people don’t seem to care.”
“If they had receptacles for garbage to go into until the maintenance crew picks it up, then we wouldn’t have the problem of trash flying all over the place.”
The compactor, when working, helped flatten trash before the crew picked it up. It had been down for about two months before it was fixed, DNAinfo reported. As a result of the trash build up, rats could be seen sorting through the trash as a food source.
NYCHA responded that garbage collection is sometimes slowed because the compactor breaks down. “The compactor jams occasionally occur due to the disposal of large or irregular objects, the volume of waste disposed and issues with the equipment.”
After its most recent failure, the compactor was down for about two months before NYCHA fixed it, DNAinfo reported.
They did not say they’ll be increasing the number of receptacles, but an agency spokesperson said that NYCHA is adding a garbage crew to do extra cleanup.
“NYCHA has enhanced communications with residents on the proper disposal of trash, including flyers posted in the buildings and notices in the resident’s semiannual newsletter. NYCHA is also taking additional measures to address the issue by deploying a garbage crew to regularly remove bulk and built up waste in the mornings, which is scheduled to begin before the end of the month.
We will continue to monitor the trash issue at the Frederick Douglass Houses.”
The residents of Frederick Douglas House are absolutely correct. There are very few trash cans in the vicinity, and the garbage bags are not picked up. We live on West End Ave. and have seen this continuing situation since our move to the UWS in July.
Thank you for publicizing the inaction by NYCHA, Ms. Valerio.
Not that NYCHA buildings are known for their luxuriousness, but they have really been letting this complex go to hell recently. Broken glass and trash everywhere. I have seen multiple dead rats just laying on the sidewalk. Also, what is up with the sidewalk sheds that have been in a state of partial assembly for several months? This has been a perpetual issue at NYCHA buildings that DeBlasio pledged to fix.
They don’t have to be luxurious but they should be clean and provide safe living conditions.
This is pretty terrible.
If this same issue occurred at a private building, the city would be all over it with fines and citations. The housing authority seems to have some sort of sovereign immunity. The residents and the neighborhood deserve better than this.
These housing projects have long outlived their usefulness. Time to phase them out in my opinion.
Besides, there aren’t anymore building projects being built. It’s all unaffordable luxury buildings now. So the projects are being phased out. And so are the middle class and lower income population separTe from the projects phasing out.
Tell that to the people who live in them.
I hate to be cynical but NYCHA may have alte rigor motive for making the complexes as unlivable as possible.
Regardless of that thought it is time to hold the people who run NYcha responsible for these conditions. They make the decisions to let these buildings deteriorate. I say make them live in one of these housing complexes. That would get the work done!
The real problem is residents are instructed to place their trash is large UNCONFINED holding areas.
NYCHA’s excuse that it scatters around because of a broken trash compactor is bogus, this has been going
on for years, not a couple of weeks!
Thank you thank you Ms Valerio and West Side Rag!
for bringing this out into the open!
This problem is not isolated to this Frederick Douglass Houses. The NYCHA Wise Towers on West 90th Street have omnipresent piles of bags at 117 and 133. The staff drag bags of garbage to the curb without regard to the collection schedule. Because there is always garbage at the curb, others just add to it. In fact, vehicles drive to the area and dump bags of garbage because it has become known the area is an unregulated dumping area. Previous outreach to Helen Rosenthal’s office and Gale Brewer’s office before her have only modified the 7-day garbage placement practice by NYCHA employees for a week or two – and then it back to dumping as usual. Sanitation police officials have stated they have no enforcement power over NYCHA. It’s time for the community board leaders to step up and do something about this.
Kenneth – I agree with you. It seems to me that NYCHA can do whatever it wants and gets away with it. The community board and politicians along with the Tenant Associations need to work together to remedy the situation. Billions of dollars are being wasted by an Authority without any consequences.
I live in Douglass. This problem is development wide. Our garbage compactor machine has been broken since mid-February. Many tenants in my building do not have hot water (its has been over a month). The brand new elevator breaks down often. Every elected official I have reached out to seems powerless against the NYCHA machine. It pains me to say it, but if NYCHA is untouchable, then it may be time to rethink public housing. People need to remember NYCHA is funded by tax payers and NYCHA has mismanaged billions of dollars.