Bronx Residents Outraged By Illegal Dumping In Pelham Parkway Park
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Instead of taking their trash to the curb, people are taking it to a public park in the Bronx, and residents are outraged.
As CBS2's Lisa Rozner explained, household trash is somehow finding a home in Pelham Parkway Park.
Bags are being left -- sometimes with a paper trail of who's doing it; credit card statements, loan documents, and even professional contracts.
"Midland Avenue, Yonkers complaint on Kimball. This is like personal work documents," Roxanne Delgado said.
She moved to the neighborhood to enjoy the scenery.
"Gas canisters, inner tube tires, window frames, I actually found a bathroom sink once," she said.
She started a group called 'Friends of Pelham Parkway Park' to clean it up. She's calling out violators too.
She's writing letters to alleged dumpers from Upstate New York who she believes pull over to unload.
The other day she even found trash from a neighbor, and called her out on Facebook.
"She stated that her trash was stolen and I was complicit to identity theft," she said.
Joe Menta serves on Community Board 11. He said the more than 2 mile stretch of land is the Bronx's Central Park, but it's not being treated that way.
"It really infuriates us," he said. "I'd like to see more enforcement and more of a presence, specifically of the parks department along Pelham Parkway.
CBS2 even found someone discarding clothing and a personal organizer on another corner of the park, and decided to demand answers form the parks department and department of sanitation.
No one would go on camera, but the department said in a statement that 'parks will immediately conduct spot checks in this area, in response to concerns of chronic illegal dumping.'
"We don't have that much support to clean up after everybody," Tanvir Mieh said.
"It bothers me when you want to go to walk in the park and there's a lot of garbage," Aida said.
"It's horrible. It's just dirtying our community," Brian Henriquez added.
There's a plea for anyone thinking of adding to it.
"Just think about nature and think about the people who live here," Menta said.
The department of sanitation said fines range from $75 to $20,000 for illegal dumping. Anyone who sees illegal dumping should call 311.
