Roosevelt Island Main Street Commercial Trash Containers Overflowing With Garbage From Local Restaurants, It's Disgusting, We're Going To Have A Rat Convention Says Resident - Something Has To Be Done, And It Was, Area Now Cleaned Up
Last Monday, an angry Roosevelt Island Tipster sent this photo of the Southtown commercial trash containers overflowing with garbage outside its fenced in area
on Main Street across from the Riverwalk Commons and F train subway station. According to the Tipster:
Not the look we're going for. This is awful. Why build a gated corral for the garbage when it is dumped like this?
The garbage is from the Rivewalk Commons restaurants
As reported last October 18, the Southtown commercial garbage area was recently moved from it's former east side location to the west side because of construction beginning on Hudson Related's 29 story Riverwalk Building 9.
The overflowing garbage at the site had been going on for several weeks.
During the December 22 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board Of Directors Public Session, Roosevelt Island Historical Society President Judy Berdy said the overflowing garbage at the site:
... is disgusting. We're going to have another rat convention... and something has to be done. It's disgraceful...
Last Tuesday the area looked like this
For weeks the new @thehudsoncos Southtown Commercial Garbage containers for restaurants in the Riverwalk Commons have been an eyesore and health hazard overflowing with garbage and ignored by @rooseveltislandny @sheltonjhaynes despite requests to fix by the community. But the rats probably love it.
Comments on the Roosevelt Islander Instagram page included:
- Actually RIOC isn’t really cleaning the streets and sidewalks either. It’s the messiest and dirtiest I’ve ever seen Main st. Not to mention never fining Nisi for their filthy trash squalor at the entrance to Island House and Good Shepherd Chapel.
- Should walk by the soccer fields the morning after a day of good weather. Disgusting the amount of trash left lying around. Why doesnt PSD enforce the littering laws!!
- the fields have it the worst. One could find booze bottles and half eaten chicken bones. Kick a dirty diaper…etc etc
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Both sides of East and West Loop roads consistently have litter, particularly near parking spots and closest the waterfront. It’s very clearly intentionally done. It appears that litter removal isn’t in the contract of RIOC groundskeepers, but this is an issue that I’ve been unable to determine a point of contact for to find a solution. It’s certainly not the most pressing issue, but it’s a basic function of local government.
On Tuesday I asked RIOC President Shelton Haynes and Assistant Vice President Of Communications Akeem Jamal:
FYI - The Southtown Commercial Garbage area is overflowing with garbage from the Riverwalk Commons restaurants. This has been going on for at least a month if not longer.During the December 22 RIOC Board meeting Public Session, RIHS President Judy Berdy brought this issue to RIOC's attention but no clean up or action of any kind appears to have been taken.Will be doing a Roosevelt Islander Online post about it later today.Any comment from RIOC on this matter?
No reply from RIOC.
I asked same question of Hudson Related's David Kramer who immediately replied that he would look into it.
The next day, the garbage area was cleaned up.
and Mr Kramer reported:
Actions speak louder than words!
We would like to thank Roosevelt Islander Online & RIOC for holding all stakeholders accountable on our beautiful island.
I asked Mr Kramer:
Why was the garbage not placed in the fenced area and picked up on a regular basis?
Whose responsibility is it to keep the area clean? Rioc, Hudson Related, Riverwalk restaurants?
It’s on us, we’re trying to get to the bottom of what fell through the crack and why.
Good job by Hudson Related responding to community concerns.
