By Mike Russo
Santino claims the county has gone back on its end of the deal, resulting in the accumulation of litter on one of Baldwin's main roads.
The arrangement, in which the town suspended parking on Grand Avenue from 4-7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that a county street sweeper could clean from the Southern State Parkway to Atlantic Avenue without a problem, has been ignored as of late, says Santino. In a letter written to County Executive Tom Suozzi, Santino expressed his concern that the county’ss sweepers were cleaning on an irregular schedule that often took place during hours when cars were parked on Grand Avenue, making it difficult for the sweepers to do their jobs.
According to letters obtained by the Herald outlining communication between the town and the county on the issue, Suozzi asked Ray Ribeiro, commissioner of the county Department of Public Works, to look into the matter. A letter written back to the town from Ribeiro stated that the county had investigated the complaint and that "the street will be swept as weather and schedules permit."
Santino said he was "appalled" when he heard Ribeiro's response to the town’s request. The whole point of the designated sweeping times, Santino said, is so the trucks can do their jobs while cars aren’t parked on the street.
"That's a totally unacceptable answer," said Santino. "This is definitely going to have an impact on the tidiness and cleanliness of Grand Avenue. It runs counter to everything we're trying to do in Baldwin."
Jerry Browne, commissioner of Sanitary District 2, which does curbside garbage pickup in Baldwin and other surrounding communities, said the arrangement served not only to clean up garbage, but to preserve the quality of life among residents. Browne recalled a study done in 2002 that showed similarities between crime rate and litter, as people tend to become more disobedient while in the presence of litter and graffiti. He said that the arrangement worked very well until late last year, when suddenly the sweeper stopped coming during the designated hours.
"If someone comes into an area that has litter and graffiti or broken windows, they are more apt to [commit] petty crimes, and that's what we're trying to avoid," said Browne. "Criminals have a tendency to stay out of a place that looks like it is maintained and well kept, and people look like they care about the area."
Browne said that he has been in touch with the county, who he says claimed that they didn't have the machines or manpower at particular times. Other than that, Browne said, he has heard nothing else from the county on what they might do to solve the problem. Browne is in touch with different school groups to help clean up the area as well as improve education on quality of life issues pertaining to their local environment. He said he is prepared to organize the community and contact local legislators if they don't get an answer back from the county.
The county did not return a call for comment as of press time.
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
