(sent on 10/17/11)
Since the original sending of this letter, I had the happy occasion of finding my neighbors on the south side of Bergen Street, busily sweeping their, and others, sidewalks in front of their house. Saturday morning (10/15/11) turned into one of those happy days when three of us swept 2/3 of the block, all the way from the southwest corner of Kingston Ave. and Bergen St., starting at the Kingston Lounge. Although the leaves would soon remove any trace of our good deeds, we were happy in knowing that the block wouldn't have an even greater accumulation of leaves, and the 40oz. beer bottles and particle board left on the steps of 1304 Bergen would no longer present an eyesore to passersby.
This morning I went out to get a look at what was going on; another neighbor on the south side of Bergen St. was engaged in sweeping hers and her neighbors sidewalks, and the leaves in the gutter in front of their houses. Sadly, we both noted a pile of demolition waste left around the base of one of the trees in front of the Kingston Lounge. The waste probably was in excess of 500lbs. of broken concrete and black and white construction waste bags. Attached is one (1) picture of the mess that some miscreant left there.
I have appealed to the owners of the Kingston Lounge to place signs on the facing sides of their property on Bergen St. and Kingston Ave. that say the area is under video surveillance. I asked them to back this up with the installation of video cameras pointing out onto the same areas.
I hope that the NYPD still has the "camera program" that allows them to place surveillance cameras in trouble areas, with the cost of electricity picked up by the property owner. If this program is still in place, I will ask the owners of properties on Kingston Ave. to make use of this program.
Picture SN152762.jpg was taken on 10/17/2011
Picture SN152752.jpg was taken on 9/29/2011
The attached files are of incidents that are 2 1/2 weeks apart. I maintain that this area is targeted by persons unknown for illegal dumping.
Desmond Atkins
Bergen-Kingston Block Association
On 09/29/2011 01:03 PM, D.M. Atkins wrote:
> Councilman Vann,
>
> I am appealing to you for help. The residents and your constituents who live on and just off of Kingston Avenue have been fighting the scourge of illegal dumping for years. We have done all of the recommended actions that have been told to us by NY Sanitation, and our local community board:
>
> * Keep our residence clean
> * Report illegal dumping thru 311, whether by phone or online
> * Urge our commercial vendors to keep their areas clean (creations of the Kingston Avenue Merchants Association)
>
> These methods are not working. Kings County's Sanitation Enforcement is located in the Fort Hamilton section of Brooklyn, and they complain that they are understaffed. Our community cannot grow, and is not safe for schoolchildren with the amount of trash that is left on the streets by dumping criminals.
> If Kingston Avenue and Bergen Street is considered the midpoint of Community Board 8 along Kingston Avenue, there exists
>
> * Paul Robeson High School
> * PS 289 (George V. Brower School)
> * Brooklyn Childrens' Museum
> * Achievement First Charter Schools (there are two schools housed in the building)
>
> Would you please come out, personally, to the next community board meeting with any possible suggestions and solutions that you can provide to this problem which is blighting our community.
>
> Thank you in advance,
> Desmond Atkins
> Bergen-Kingston Block Association
The text above was emailed on 10/17/11 to my city councilperson, Al Vann. I have been in contact with our local sanitation unit, BK8, and there mobil supervisor Dueno had a truck come and pickup the demolition concrete that been illegally dumped. The sanitation men estimated that the waste was actually in the range of 700-800 lbs. of waste. Supv. Dueno, and several other sanit mobil supervisors have all told me that it is contractors who are attempting to low bid jobs that are doing the dumping (because dumping costs are so high).
If you witness a contractor doing illegal dumping from a vehicle, sanitation has a form for reporting this. If the company/person is fined and prosecuted,you can receive 50% of the fine.