North Shore Garbage Strike Has Residents Worried About Vermin
ROSLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Multiple villages on Long Island's North Shore are worried about vermin that may be attracted to piles of uncollected garbage.
With no warning, workers for a private hauler -- which contracts with these communities -- began a work stoppage on Monday.
As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, residents are fed up.
In neighborhoods across Nassau's North Shore, smelly rainsoaked, unsightly garbage overflows into yards and onto streets. Trash has even been stuffed into recycling bins.
Joseph Zimbardi doesn't like what he sees.
"You get garbage blowing all over the street and we have to go out as citizens and try to get it picked up," he said, "I don't know what kind of animals are flying around in the back there."
All week long, garbage collection has been disrupted by a strike -- 65 union workers for Meadow Carting of Westbury walked off the job in a wage and pay dispute.
It blindsided businesses and homeowners who said they have received no information from the company. Their garbage commissioners have been unresponsive, and several did not return calls from CBS2.
"It's not looking good, anywhere you go there is garbage on every corner, every resident just waiting for the garbage to get picked up. Nobody knows what's going on," Port Washington business owner Zoe Chuu said.
Most garbage woes are being experienced in twelve villages in and around Port Washington, Great Neck, and Manhasset.
Munsey Park residents have been carrying their household trash to a temporary dumpster set up at a church.
"So we called up and we said, 'what's going on. Nobody came to pick up our garbage,' and they said they are on strike," Debbie Economu said. "There's animals that are out, they're going to rip open all the garbage, so what does that mean for us?"
There's still been no formal statement from the union or the company -- they were back at the bargaining table on Thursday.
Details of a settlement are being worked out, but residents said they've been told they may have to wait until next week for garbage pickup due to the backlog.
In an effort to help local residents, the town of North Hempstead -- not a part of the strike -- will be posting the latest garbage collection updates on its website.
