Roosevelt Island Southtown Commercial Trash Yard Piling Up With Garbage This Memorial Day Weekend - Bins Overflowing With Southtown Restaurants Garbage Says RIRA Island Services Committee Member

The April 2016 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Island Services Committee (ISC) Report stated:

... Commercial Trash in Southtown – Last month the daily condition of the trash yard substantially deteriorated. We are working with Related’s new manager for commercial property to bring the yard back to meeting Dept. of Sanitation regulations. Just last week, there has been evidence of improvements. ISC will continue to monitor the situation until the yard routinely meets standards....

The conditions in the Southtown Commercial Trash yard were bad this Memorial Day Weekend. On Sunday, RIRA ISC Southtown Common Council Member Mickey Rindler shared these photos and reported:

Bins in Southtown overflowing again.

It has been going on since at least Friday. Usually they pick up Friday or Saturday nights.

People should think twice about eating in the Southtown establishments if they have no respect for sanitary conditions.

There is nothing the maintenance man from 425 can do when it is like this.

Mr. Rindler reported today:

The bins have been cleaned up since yesterday with extra bags on the ground. Some tops are closed,

some not completely. So it is somewhat better although rats could clearly gnaw through the bags. I spoke to the building maintenance man yesterday afternoon, so maybe he did it yesterday or this morning.

Still garbage was not picked up and that is the point.

RIRA ISC Member Frank Farance cites NYC Department of Sanitation regulations and adds:

While I agree with Mickey 100% on this, this is a general problem for the Island and its merchants, which are in Southtown and the WIRE buildings, not Manhattan Park nor Octagon.

I believe the issue would get better and CONSISTENT treatment if they were dealt with together. Why? Because the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) needs to know about this and Southtown Developer/Main Street Retail Master Leaseholder Hudson Related (H-R) needs to know about this, and the standards be the same for both WIRE and Southtown retail spaces.

Here is the reading from the ground leases for Southtown 3-4 (i.e., the buildings with commercial tenants). In the ground lease, it requires the Tenant (H-R) to enforce the provisions of the ground lease upon the Subtenants (Section 10.4), which include "maintain the appearance of the subleased premises in keeping with the general standard maintained for the Building" and "comply with such other commercially reasonable rules, regulations and operating covenants as Landlord shall require which are generally applicable to commercial space on Roosevelt Island".

That last provision is important because other commercial space on Roosevelt Island is defined by the Main Street Retail Master Lease. The Retail Master Lease is weak in that H-R can have Low Standards on what is acceptable, but they are required to comply with the City's Administrative Code, which includes the following:

- DSNY Code §16—120(c): "Commercial Premises—Placement of Containers: If refuse is scheduled to be picked up after closing, the merchant may place refuse out for private collection within one hour of closing. If the collection service is performed during the day, the commercial waste may not be placed out for collection unless it is within two hours of actual collection time. In the event the commercial establishment has metal containers (dumpsters), the establishment must remove these containers immediately after collection. If the collection service occurs either at night or in the early morning hours and a responsible party is not present to remove the containers, the DSNY will allow a reasonable amount of time (usually one hour from the time a responsible party is on the premises) for removal before issuing a Notice of Violation. Containers (dumpsters) are to be removed from the sidewalks/streets and placed inside or in the rear of the premises. Containers must at all times be maintained in a neat, clean, and closed condition, and the area around them must also remain neat and clean. Garbage may never be left out on a holiday or weekend."

- DSNY Code 16 RCNY §1-08(h)(1)(2): "Bundle Cardboard: Flattened corrugated cardboard must be tied together with sturdy twine into bundles no more than 18 inches high and shall not be placed in recycling containers or bags unless it is broken into small pieces (no larger than 9 inches x 11 inches). In buildings with mechanized collection, corrugated cardboard must be collapsed and placed into designated dumpsters."

- DSNY Code 16 RCNY §1-09: "Those institutions that receive containerized collection service must place recyclable material out in dumpster-like containers that are acceptable to the DSNY. Clearly label the containers with the words 'RECYCLING - BOTTLES AND CANS' or 'RECYCLING - MIXED PAPER.'"

- DSNY Code §16-120(a): "Covered Receptacles: Garbage receptacles (including dumpsters) must be covered at all times with securely fitting covers/lids."

Clearly the dumpsters in use at Southtown and WIRE retail violate those provisions. Not only can the City enforce it, H-R is OBLIGATED to enforce it (which they don't).

UPDATE 5/31 - Mr. Rindler reports this morning:

Garbage was picked up.

Boxes not yet (a different carter). However, two bins are outside the enclosure, one open with bags in it.

UPDATE 6/2 - RIRA'S Eva Bosbach reports that the overflowing garbage has been cleaned up

Images From Eva Bosbach

and the temporary Con Ed presence gone.