A huge, unofficial trash dump at the Bronx headquarters of the New York City parks department underwent an intense cleanup by parks and sanitation workers after neighbors complained to Gothamist about the festering pile.
The massive mound of waste had become a feast for rats after the city began dumping trash from parks around the Bronx at the site. Parks department workers added a large covering to the fence where cyclists had been contending with the odor, and state environmental officials inspected the site to help improve the situation. New York City’s strongest also stepped in, helping the parks department remove 15 tons of trash over a three-day period.
A 30-yard dumpster was also hauled to the facility, and state officials said pest control measures were put in place.
Most trash dumps in New York need to be registered, but state officials said the parks department’s dump is exempt since it’s under New York City’s jurisdiction. Still, state officials said they’ll be monitoring operations at the site to determine if a permit might be required in the future.
Despite the multiagency efforts, rats could still be spotted traipsing across the greenway into the dump during daylight hours on Thursday.
Parks officials say a container truck continues to regularly move garbage from the site.
“Due to the enormous amount of garbage removed by parks maintenance and operations staff, the quantity of garbage can appear significant before it is removed,” said agency spokesperson Gregg McQueen.
McQueen added that the site is a temporary holding area for illegally dumped trash collected from nearby parks and “is cleared daily” which neighbors say is not the case.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
