Garbage, dirty conditions plague commuters at busy Brooklyn subway station
NEW YORK — Friday is the start of enforcement for New York City's new garbage bin laws, enacted late last year for residential units.
The Department of Sanitation says failure to use the proper secured trash bin can result in fines starting at $50. But some commuters say the city is failing to maintain the same standards on its own property.
"We're being held to a very strong standard that the city itself is not upholding"
Outside the Kings Highway subway station on East 16th street and Quentin Road, outdated garbage cans consistently overflow with trash. The sidewalk around them is also littered with debris.
Marine Park resident Linda Camarda, a retired business owner, brought this issue to the attention of CBS News New York reporter Hannah Kliger, saying the degraded conditions are insulting to see given the city's garbage bin reforms in 2024.
"We're being held to a very strong standard that the city itself is not upholding," she said. "Clearly, these are not rat-proof trash bins, and they are overflowing all the time."
Hours after CBS News New York reached out to the Department of Sanitation, DSNY workers cleaned up the sidewalk and replaced the baskets to rodent resistant ones.
Both DSNY and MTA say the area seems to be outside their respective jurisdictions, but DSNY says it will continue to monitor and clean the area regularly.
"They require us to be mindful and will fine us if we don't observe and comply with the trash rules, and they should be required to do the same," Camarda said.
Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R) represents the 48th District in Southern Brooklyn and is on the Council's Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management. Her office has facilitated several clean-ups at busy subway stations, and says she has been pushing for a way to address illegal dumping.
A spokesperson for her office said in a statement that help may be on the horizon, writing in part, "...we are exploring long-term strategies such as an Adopt-A-Basket program and the installation of cameras in the vicinity to deter improper trash disposal."
DSNY reminds New Yorkers who see excessive litter or illegal dumping to call 311.
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