Residents, Business Owners Want City To Curb East 86th Street Trash Problem
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Manhattan's Upper East Side has a trash problem.
As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, local residents are wondering why one section of the neighborhood looks like such a dump.
East 86th Street is home to some wonderfully pricey real estate; it's also home to a pig sty of a sidewalk between Lexington and Third avenues on the south side of the street.
"I've lived here all my life. This is the worst it's been," Sheila Davidson said.
It's an exceptionally busy area, but for some reason one block is a trash heap. It's apparently been untouched by sanitation workers and property managers.
"This is the Upper East Side. You would think that we would have more prestige and pride in our neighborhood. This is just disgusting," Carlos Knauth said.
Sometimes the presence of a news crew can get results. CBS2 contacted the Department of Sanitation about the mess. Just over an hour later it was clean.
A street vendor was ordered to clean it up, but there is still much work to be done along the Upper East Side's main street.
"It's disgusting. Sanitation needs to do something about it," said one man who declined to provide his name.
The manager of a shoe store on 86th Street said he told the city the sidewalk trash is becoming a full time job for him.
"I've explained to them that we sweep multiple times. It's up to the point where I feel I need to have a janitor just for the sidewalk," Daniel Vazquez said.
The Sanitation Department said keeping the sidewalks and curbs clean is the responsibility of the store owner or property manager, and sanitation added that the issue will be addressed immediately.
