Trash on Franklin Ave. Is it a mess or a mess?

Because people in the neighborhood who walk down Franklin Ave. use the street as a litter basket. The store owners have to sweep in front of their places or else risk a $50 sanitation fine. And they have to sweep 18 inches into the street. Everyplace else is a "no man's land" and people just don't give a damn.

Clean up days have just begun to become a regular feature on Washington, and can largely be credited the work of Heart of Brooklyn and the Washington Avenue Prospect Heights Association

Related photo:

Related thread:

http://brooklynian.com/forum/prospect-heights/washington-ave-is-dirty

Franklin Avenue also has a merchants association, and an org known as Crow Hill Association I perceive them as being right on the cusp of being able to pull off regular street cleanings:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Franklin-Avenue-Merchants/125330170861779

Relying on the city to empty to overflowing trash cans does not seem a valid strategy, nor does it help to discourage litter.

The associations may need to do what many other groups have reluctantly done: Buy trash cans which the merchants then "voluntarily" empty.

I did a cleanup on Franklin Avenuea few times. It cleans it for that hour but that's about it.

That said, I think the avenue is way cleaner than it used to be. Less empty stores is the biggest reason but also fewer take out places and more sit down places. I think that more stores should do what Pulp and Bean does and put their own personal trash can in front of their stores. I often walk blocks and blocks with trash in my hand before finding a trash can - some people won't walk as far before ditching it. If there was a place to throw it away more often it might help.

I don't think it's worth the possibility of someone taking a swing at you over littering. And if you're going to complain about that, then complain about jaywalking too. Both minor annoyances but still they both show a lack of courtesy. In any event, there's not much you can do because people think that the street sweepers or the shop owners that have to clean in front of their stores will take care of it.

I suspect that littering is a way for those who are not proud of their own homes to show contempt for the more fortunate.

In a sense, one could argue that is is a form of "political speech", and thus constitutionally protected conduct... Although I imagine that city and state criminal courts would quickly reject such arguments.

booklaw said:

I suspect that littering is a way for those who are not proud of their own homes to show contempt for the more fortunate.

In a sense, one could argue that is is a form of "political speech", and thus constitutionally protected conduct... Although I imagine that city and state criminal courts would quickly reject such arguments.

That's a thought, but I think such political expression would make more sense if litters left their own neighborhood more. As it is, they just seem to disrespect their present neighborhood.

As a result, I've concluded that some people are rude no matter what neighborhood they are in, and/or have settled for "sticking it to their fellow man", when they would like to "stick it to THE man."

...I've also heard the argument that littering is a some times subconscious way to stop gentrification, but I don't feel it is well thought out or effective. Such "logic" fails to recognize that wealthy people have business improvement districts and merchant associations.

As a result, littering to hurt others is like dressing badly to show that you hate your job. ...you only hurt yourself.

PragmaticGuy said:

I don't think it's worth the possibility of someone taking a swing at you over littering. And if you're going to complain about that, then complain about jaywalking too. Both minor annoyances but still they both show a lack of courtesy. In any event, there's not much you can do because people think that the street sweepers or the shop owners that have to clean in front of their stores will take care of it.

Jaywalking shows a lack of courtesy? If you do it when cars are coming and they have to stop, that's rude (and dangerous) but if no one is coming, I'm not seeing how it affects anyone else...

I find some of these thoughts on littering as a political statement humorous. I work in Midtown east and the litter would be out of control if there weren't people working the sidewalks and emptying trash receptacles throughout the day. Bottom lines is that littering is an accepted aspect of life for SOME in this city on streets with lots of businesses.

I personally think that much of the trash strewn about is the result of it being summer. Regardless, the city should focus on providing a better means of trash disposal along busy streets in predominantly residential neighborhoods. Even along 7th and 5th Ave in Park Slope litter is a problem during certain times of the year. Trash cans should only be at the point of overflowing in extraordinary circumstances.

Also, maybe the cops standing around can start writing tickets for littering. That's a perfectly legitimate and easy way of adding to the city's coffers and a good way to discourage such behavior in the long run.

Also, we have to remember that the City is actually removing trash cans from commercial strips because they believe it decreases litter.

You used to be able to just call 311 and request a garbage can for a corner. They would only put it on commercial streets. This was only a couple of years ago, has this changed? I got one for the corner of Vanderbilt and Bergen because I was tired of crossing the street to just toss dog poop. Lazy, yes, but they put one there with no problem then and it was certainly used by more than me.

i dont really think a dirty neighborhood is good for the long time community of crown heights, nor do i think leaving it dirty retains any sort of old school credibility to it. its just a massive oversight of the city government.

i also hope this addresses the trash issue beyond franklin. nostrand is just absolutely filthy.

yuppie_scum said:

Am I the only one who thinks that littering tickets would just be another way for the 77 to target certain residents?

If by "target certain residents" you mean target residents who litter? Then yes, yes it is. And I'm all for it. There is a reason this city has roaches, rats and mice. And people just chucking bits of food and trash where ever they please is part of it.

Most people have never been stopped for jaywalking, but occasionally it has even happened to rabbis.

In any case, if there is a nuisance concern such as littering I certainly hope we would not be inhibited from enforcing the law out of fear of police discrimination. If cops do discriminate they should be held to task.

Wait what was the great "pizza/mace/I'll land a helicopter?" :-k I'm new here please explain!

Yup, those are the threads!

While I don't know what happened that specific day, I can state that when one sat at Franklin Roadhouse (now Mayfield's), one could see the cat and mouse game between the cops and this subset of locals as drug sales took place. It was something to do as you waited for a burger.

Then, one day, a cop saw a person litter..... and the long standing frustrations between the opposing forces came to a head.