Garbage Is Piling Up With City's New Pickup Rules, Bay Ridge Residents Say
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some Bay Ridge, Brooklyn residents say they are fed up with piling up garbage – and they have a unique plan to get the attention of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
As CBS2's Jessica Borg reported, garbage is piled up on the sidewalk along 97th Street in bay Ridge, and residents say they're sick of it.
"When you look out my living room window, this is what you see," said Pat McLaughin.
But McLaughlin said she is more concerned about her elderly neighbors, who live on nearby Barwell Terrace. In Mid-March, the Department of Sanitation stopped picking up trash left on walkways in front of homes
Now, residents have to bring their garbage and recycling to the nearest public sidewalk to be picked up.
"Now they've stopped coming in, and they wait now till – there's senior citizens living here now. A few of them just had knee replacements – and everybody has to go out regardless of the weather," said Kathleen Ryan.
Back in March at a community board meeting, residents said they spoke up against the changes in sanitation pickups.
But CBS2 is told the change -- affecting nearly 100 homes in the city -- was permanent.
"What they really need to do is just go back to the way they were doing it for 40 years," said Liam McCabe.
McCabe, a Republican candidate for City Council, has been collecting garbage personally from the end of an alleyway in Bay Ridge – claiming residents are being neglected.
Sanitation Chief of Department Keith Mellis told CBS 2 residents are not being neglected. He said since trucks cannot make it down the narrow paths, in the past, "sanitation workers walked down the alleyways, but this proved to be a safety concern."
But McCabe countered: "Sanitation workers have to get on property and pick up trash and take it to the truck. That's not that dangerous. That's, I think, part of the job."
McCabe drove the garbage he collected to Gracie Mansion.
"Let's ask the mayor if he's going to accept the trash," he said.
CBS2 did not get a response from Mayor's de Blasio's office about McCabe's stunt. But garbage in the area was piling up early for the next pickup.
The Department of Sanitation would not specify what safety concerns they have. Residents said the city told them the department was worried about homeowners' insurance and liability.