By Gus Saltonstall
A new cleaning schedule and strategy has been implemented on a particularly bustling Upper West Side block.
West 83rd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues is brimming with activity, including the P.S. 9 school building, a fire house, a safe haven for people experiencing homelessness, a post office, multiple car rental places, a parking garage, and a gym.
“I have seen the urgent need to implement regular street cleaning on this block,” Councilmember Gale Brewer wrote in a letter on October 2 to residents and workers on the block, which her interns passed out to buildings on the street. “A clean street not only enhances the beauty of our community, but also contributes to public health and safety.”
The decision to implement the new monthly street-cleaning schedule included multiple surveys of local residents and workers, and conversations with the New York City Department of Sanitation.
Street cleanings will now take place once a month on each side of 83rd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus. The cleanings will be carried out by employees from the Department of Sanitation, in coordination with the NYPD’s 20th Precinct.
In the days leading up to the cleaning schedule, the NYPD will put up temporary signs reminding people to move their vehicles.
“Your cooperation is essential to the success of this initiative,” Brewer wrote. “By working together, we can make sure that West 83rd Street remains a clean and pleasant place to live and work. We understand that moving vehicles on this street is not easy, but we feel confident that with this monthly sanitation program, we can maintain the cleanliness of this block.”
The first of these cleanings successfully took place on the south side of 83rd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus on September 3rd.
Here are the next two cleaning dates:
- North Side: October 5: 9:30 a.m.
- South Side: November 2: 9:30 a.m.
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Sorry to say but sadly , there is trash everywhere – on sidewalks, in overflowing trash cans, in parks, in tree pits. Starbucks cups, Joe’s Juice, beer bottles, plastic utensils, pizza boxes, and more.
Trash doesn’t get there by itself – people proactively leave it.
Truly unbelievable
I was under the impression that the buikdings and businesses on ground floors were responsible for the sidewalks in fron of thei establishments. Are school building, fire houses, safe havens for people experiencing homelessness, post offices, car rental places, parking garages, and gyms exempt from this law?
Go to Columbus and 97th Street. Whole Foods should be ashamed of themselves.
The front aand the side of Whole Foods is filthy. I spoke to the manager but nothing gets done.
On e important note for you, most retail stores clean up their sidewalks when they come in – we WANT it to look inviting. What this means is we are cleaning up other people’s TRASH, disgusting items, and much worse. If we are busy during the day, and can’t keep sweeping, we walk out at the end of the night and have to do it all over again. It should not fall on small businesses who are just trying to stay alive with effects of COVID & Amazon. We definitely want our sidewalks to look inviting, trust me. Just sad and unfair that we are basically trash collectors for the city.
You are not trash collectors for the city. Everyone, all over the US is always responsible for the area in front of their properties whether owned by them directly or not, the same way you are responsible for snow removal. Every building and business must maintain their sidewalks.
“….safe haven for people experiencing homelessness….”
Translation: Homeless shelter.
Really had to get that off your chest, eh.
Very safe haven for liter bugs.
Thank you for the update.
I still want to know who paid a premium to be in the relatively new luxury building on the south side of that block. I’m sure it is lovely on the inside but it is completely out of place.
Perhaps the police precinct a block away could more closely patrol the block as well. And USPS could hire more friendly, motivated people to work behind the counter at the post office on the block. Going there is the most miserable experience. Most of the delivery people I have met have been great, but the desk workers are almost universally bad – horrible attitudes and zero customer service.
The Planetarium Post Office has been notorious for decades. Ask your mail carrier their opinion of its management. They will give you an earful. I avoid it like the plague.
The two things with worse customer service than the MTA, the US Postal Service and Macy’s.
and Walmart
How did that random block get so busy?
First, why is there an exhaust vent hanging out of the post office and directly over a bench? Shabby looking block, but the USPS should be cleaning up that space.
The AC doesn’t work. That is a portable AC Unit.
That’s embarrassing. Thanks for the info!
I seem to remember way, way back in 2020 BC (before covid) cars were ticketed for not being moved on cleaning day. But that was in another era, so my memory might be a little foggy.
That is the dirtiest street on the UPPER WEST SIDE because it’s so commercialized you have the US Post Office that don’t clean up after themselves which shows in your pictures then you have the Fire Department that’s creating more trash as well as the school, not to mention the commercial businesses on that street that don’t clean up in front of their stores!!!
If everybody lends a hand that Street would be a cleaner street. But nobody does anything on that block. It’s the laziest dirtiest block on the UPPER WEST SIDE West 83rd St. between Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue.
Is this in addition to alternate side parking?
Quite a lot of trash around 72nd & Broadway, and 71-72nd (McDonald’s block).
I watched the sanitation workers empty trash cans on a street on Tuesday (not on the UWS, but that is not relevant).
The workers dragged the trash bins to the truck, emptied it, but while they did this, bottles and other trash spilled onto the street.
I waited to see if they would pick up the street trash, but they didn’t.
The net result was that while the trash bin was empty, the area surrounding it and on the street was still dirty.
This is probably happening city wide, so emptying trash bins is not adequate. Workers need to be trained to pick up all the spilled trash as well (as much as possible).
While this would lead to more time spent, at least it is solving the problem.
I was astounded as to the amount of trash left on the street AFTER the sanitation workers left.
See this sometimes on collection days. They whip the bags into back of the truck, some bags break spilling some contents on street. Sometimes they clean,most times NOT.
This makes me furious. Zero accountability or concern for quality from the Sanitation department.
This is what happens when you flood the neighborhood with homeless shelters, drug and mental health shelters, immigrant shelters. No taxes, no responsibility. Please increase clean ups all over the UWS.
We need much more trash collection, cleaning of streets and sidewalks on the UWS. It is very uninviting.
Where is Mr. Micah Lascher who promised when elected to the 69th district on the UWS cleaner sidewalks and streets. And stop dog owners from letting their pets defecate on the sidewalks.
It’s really disgusting these pet owners should be fined. Where are you
Mr. Lascher hiding from your constituents who voted for you.
Sorry–I don’t understand. What is a “street cleaning” that occurs once a month? What does it entail that makes it such an apparently big deal? Not meaning to be snarky–I just don’t get it how this is so important.
I don’t understand this either – more explanation is needed.
Interesting to me that the photo shows refuse on the sidewalk in front of the Post Office. USPS, like ALL businesses in NYC are responsible for the cleanliness of the sidewalks adjacent to their property and extending 18″ into the street from the curb. In my experience, USPS facilities are some of the dirtiest, poorly maintained buildings in the neighborhoods.
As an agency of the Federal gov’t., the USPS isn’t subject to NYC laws.
I thought the streets were cleaned weekly – cars are moved twice a week.
Unfortunately the garbage situation is even worse in lower Manhattan, on the small streets of Little Italy, Greenwich Village, East Village etc.
Among other things, folks routinely leave their food garbage like Sweetgreen or Starbucks on top of closed garbage bags and on top of the new garbage bins.
Though not allowed, people also stuff personal garbage like Amazon boxes in sidewalk trash bins.
And yet folks profess to care about the environment, climate change…..
Will this “street cleaning” include moving the motorcycles off the sidewalk?
When’s the last time the Hi Life Bar & Grill’s car moved from the corner parking space for street cleaning? Kinda obnoxious for the owner to feel entitled to a free spot 24/7.
I don’t understand this. Isn’t there already mandatory street cleaning twice a week?
Doggie doodoo – can people please clean up after their pets! And not have them go smack in the middle of the sidewalks.
And what about the broken glass on 74th street all along fairways. Walking around the neighborhood has become an obstacle course.
I’m so glad to see this getting taken care of! It’s a small step in the right direction. Thank you Gale Brewer, for responding to neighbor’s letters and complaints. It took a lot of organization to get this moving, so it’s appreciated by the community.
The reason the regular street sweeping doesn’t work is because the rental car agencies keep their cars parked on the street and eat the cost of the ticket in their business model. When the street sweeper does drive down the road, none of the cars move out of the way, because they are mostly empty rental vehicles. The street sweeper knows this, and continues onto the next block without cleaning the block. Additionally, postal trucks and firehouse personnel cars don’t move either. Now, these cars will have to move on these days.