[Updated] Struggling B&H Dairy now contending with a mountain of garbage next door

B&H Dairy, already struggling with a downturn in business since reopening back in May, now has another challenge: the mountain of trash stacked up next to its curbside seating...



"Looks like it's from an vacated apartment," a B&H rep said, noting the trash has been there now for four days...



B&H, depending mostly on takeout and delivery, has a small footprint outside, with only a needful of tables ... which currently aren't too appealing next to the trash.

We tweeted the photos last night, which caught the attention of local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, who shared it with 311 and the Department of Sanitation.

Updated 11 a.m.

The city removed the pile of trash... (Thanks @polly for the pic!)

State pols introduce legislation to ban garbage trucks from parking overnight on city streets, like on 10th Street

[Photo of NY1's Rocco Vertuccio yesterday on 10th Street by Steven]

Elected officials made good on their vow from this past summer to introduce state legislation to ban New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) trucks from parking overnight on city streets.

The legislation by Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick was introduced this past Friday more than 14 months after DSNY vehicles began parking nightly on 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Despite meetings and direct pleas from residents of 10th Street and local elected officials, the city has yet to take any action to relocate the fleet of garbage trucks. With the city's inaction, officials now are turning to state legislation to get something done.

"For far too long, the Department of Sanitation has used East 10th Street as its personal parking lot, forcing residents to endure rotten smells and extreme noise pollution," Hoylman said in a statement. "This legislation... will finally end this ridiculous practice. We must ban garbage trucks from parking overnight on residential streets so we can protect the quality of life in every corner of our city."

Said Glick: "This disruptive practice has negatively affected local residents and small businesses by taking up valuable parking space, adding to noise pollution, detracting from our community’s quality of life, and introducing vermin and foul odors in front of residences."

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera all chimed in with their support.

As I first reported on Sept. 18, 2018, the DSNY started using this section of 10th Street to park up to seven garbage trucks or other vehicles. The DSNY no longer has use of their garage on 30th Street, and their solution for the foreseeable future has been to relocate their fleet elsewhere, including overnight on residential blocks.

And why park here? The Theater for the New City complex at 155 First Ave. near 10th Street was previously used by DSNY for storage, and they still maintain space in the facility for crews.

City officials had promised to look into this parking practice, but nothing ever happened. In September 2018, shortly after the trucks arrived, Mayor de Blasio promised to "relieve the immediate pressure" on 10th Street. "Do we want garbage trucks parking on residential streets? Of course not," said de Blasio, as CBS 2 reported on Sept. 26, 2018. "What we’re trying to do every day is figure out the kind of facilities that will help avoid that in the future."

"In a city with a limited amount of space, DSNY uses all options at our disposal to care for our fleet. Street parking has been necessary to keep providing essential services to this area while we find a new garage space," Belinda Mager, a DSNY spokesperson, told the Post.

Residents remain cautiously optimistic for the trucks to move on.

"I am really hopeful that this legislation may finally get the garbage trucks off of our residential street in the East Village," 10th Street resident Michelle Lang told me. "It is unfortunate that the only way to get this done is through legislation at the state level, but the de Blasio administration has failed to do anything over the last year. Fingers crossed that this will do the trick!"

Previously on EV Grieve:
Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

More trash talk about those garbage trucks parked on 10th Street

Local elected officials continue to press city for alternatives to parking garbage trucks on 10th Street; muggings now a concern

A waste of space: 10th Street still waiting for the garbage trucks to move on

Garbage truck parking situation on 10th Street still stinks, residents say

Waste land: Local elected officials tell the city to move the garbage trucks from 10th Street

A waste of space: 10th Street still waiting for the garbage trucks to move on

In the past three-plus months, residents and business owners on 10th Street haven't heard much, if anything, from city officials about the garbage trucks that have been parked on the block just west of First Avenue since September.

"Nothing has been done and garbage trucks continue to park on 10th Street," said resident Michelle Lang, who noted one minor improvement — there are sometimes just three trucks here instead of seven. "But the quality of life and safety concerns that the wall of garbage trucks create remain."



As I first reported on Sept. 18, the DSNY is using part of 10th Street for up to seven trucks. The DSNY no longer has use of their garage at 606 W. 30th St., and are relocating their fleet elsewhere.

This move — apparently done without consultation with Community Board 3 — sparked numerous complaints this past fall from residents and merchants alike who have called out the problems with the smell, noise and negative impact on business.

Before Theater for the New City moved into its current home at 155 First Ave. near 10th Street in the late 1980s, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) used the building for storage. As Off the Grid noted in a 2012 feature, "When the Theater for the New City purchased the former First Avenue Retail Market building there was stipulation that they had to still share part of the space with the Sanitation Department for a time."

Pinks, the bar-restaurant at 242 E. 10th St., is the business most directly impacted by the parked trucks.

In a recent email, owner Avi Burn said that the trucks still provide "a pretty nasty backdrop for customers looking out the windows."

And he doesn't really feel as if the issue is still on anyone's radar.

"It's on their radar like a nagging house fly would be on someone's radar," he said. "I don't believe anyone truly cares but they are forced to respond to us when we make noise about it. Yet, no solutions have been presented to us."

On Jan. 11, the Mayor’s Office held a meeting with Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer, a representative from Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s office and representatives from the DSNY, the Department of Transportation and the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit.

As I understand it, the meeting was, in part, to find a solution to the parking issue. The elected officials were said to be upset by the lack of movement with finding a new location for the fleet. In the end, the DSNY agreed to further explore alternatives and move the trucks, but they have not finalized a timeline.

A rep for Sen. Hoylman told me this: "We are awaiting information from the DSNY and will continue to work together to forge a solution."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

More trash talk about those garbage trucks parked on 10th Street

Local elected officials continue to press city for alternatives to parking garbage trucks on 10th Street; muggings now a concern

Local elected officials continue to press city for alternatives to parking garbage trucks on 10th Street; muggings now a concern

[EVG photo from Oct. 15]

Local elected officials are continuing to urge the city to quickly come up with solutions for parking its fleet of garbage trucks on 10th Street at First Avenue.

As I first reported on Sept. 18, the DSNY is now using part of 10th Street for up to seven trucks. The DSNY no longer has use of their garage at 606 W. 30th St., and are relocating their trucks elsewhere, including Pier 36.

This move — apparently done without much, if any, consultation with Community Board 3 — has sparked numerous complaints from residents and merchants alike who have called out the problems with the smell, noise and negative impact on business.

Nearly a month has passed since Mayor de Blasio promised to “relieve the immediate pressure” on 10th Street. “Do we want garbage trucks parking on residential streets? Of course not,” said de Blasio, as CBS 2 reported. “What we’re trying to do every day is figure out the kind of facilities that will help avoid that in the future.”



Here's part of a letter to Kathryn Garcia, the city’s Department of Sanitation commissioner, that Sen. Brad Hoylman's office shared with me on Friday:

Presently, the vehicles parked on East 10th Street between First and Second Avenues have created significant quality of life, public safety, and traffic related issues for residents and businesses. As a result, my office has received numerous complaints.

I understand that the owner of the Manhattan 6 garage located at 606 West 30 Street has declined to renew the lease for the DSNY vehicles. However, the city should not force residents and small businesses in the East Village into shouldering DSNY’s burden. My constituents are justifiably concerned about the lack of notice, as well as the decline in their quality of life due to the unwelcome odor, the lack of available parking, and the overbearing appearance of the vehicles.

Furthermore, this situation presents multiple public safety issues as the bike lane now overlaps with the vehicle traffic lane, thereby endangering cyclists. The vehicles also block curb ramps. This, of course, disproportionately impacts seniors and residents with disabilities, which, as I am sure you are aware, could create a potential liability for the City.

My constituents and I find this situation unacceptable. I implore you to find a more suitable location for these vehicles and I am happy to work with your office to achieve this.

Meanwhile, District 2 City Councilmember Carlina Rivera asked the mayor to take action as well in a letter from last week. That letter reads in part:

I am writing to urge full cooperation from your office and all relevant city agencies in relocating sanitation vehicles parked on East 10th Street between First and Second Avenues in Manhattan. The situation on the block has become untenable. Seniors and people with disabilities are unable to safely access transportation directly on the street, small businesses have verifiably seen their sales decrease, and public safety concerns are rising as the large vehicles block visibility to and from the street.

In addition to these concerns, the accident in Crown Heights on October 11 that saw a pedestrian fatally struck by a Department of Sanitation truck has heightened residents’ sensitivity about this issue. They note that this highly-trafficked part of the East Village, which sees pedestrian activity late into the evening due to a robust nightlife culture, is primed for a similar tragedy.

We need to work together to relieve the burden on these constituents and move the sanitation vehicles off of this narrow side street. At recent meetings, Community Board 3 and my office suggested alternative sites. Therefore, I look forward to continuing our conversations to find a quick solution that has less impact on commerce and safety.

The Post reported yesterday about a new concern with the parked trucks: muggings. Early in the morning on Oct. 11, a sanitation worker was threatened at knifepoint in front of Pinks at 242 E. 10th St. According to the Post, a 22-year-old Bronx man was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Per the article:

With the hulking trucks lined up like elephants at the curb, blocking the view of cops in patrol cars, pedestrians are at risk, residents complained to the Post.

“There is no visibility from the street. You could rob someone, mug someone or push someone into their building,” warned Michelle Lang, 48, who lives in the 16-story New Theatre condo on E. 10th Street. “There are parents with strollers.”

The threat against the garbage man is an example of “what we have feared all along,” she added.

DSNY spokesperson Dina Montes recently told The Villager that "The department is working to evaluate alternative parking options as provided by elected officials and the community board. Other city agencies, such as [the Department of Transportation], may need to be involved in evaluating any alternate spaces as well."

Interestingly enough, during the "Trash Bash" protest at Pinks on the evening of Oct. 11, there weren't any garbage trucks parked outside the bar, preventing a photo opp for a CBS 2 news crew ... only a private hauler zipped by during the festivities ...


[Photo on Oct. 11 by Stacie Joy]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

More trash talk about those garbage trucks parked on 10th Street

Pinks hosting 'Trash Bash' to protest the DSNY's decision to park garbage trucks on 10th Street

[Photo Monday by Steven]

The owners of Pinks, the bar and grill at 242 E. 10th St. west of First Avenue, are hosting a "Trash Bash" tonight as a protest of sorts over the Department of Sanitation's (DSNY) recent decision to park garbage trucks in front of their business.

As I first reported on Sept. 18, the DSNY is now using part of 10th Street for their fleet. The DSNY no longer has use of their garage at 606 W. 30th St., and are relocating their trucks elsewhere, including parts of 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

This move — apparently done without much, if any, consultation with Community Board 3 — has sparked numerous complaints from residents and merchants alike who have called out the problems with the smell, noise and negative impact on business.

As for tonight's festivities...

"We are trying an alternative playful community protest to inspire the DSNY to make changes," Pinks owner Avi Burn told me. "We would like those responsible for the decision to make a garbage truck parking lot out of 10th Street to imagine this happening right outside their residence or place of business.

"It's horrific and irresponsible and there are alternatives to be discovered with a little effort. There is always a solution. We understand the DSNY has missed some deadlines to communicate with CB3, this will not go away — they need to focus on it and come to a satisfactory resolution with us."

Here's what to expect this evening, via the Facebook event page:

Costume theme: TRASHY AND FLASHY.
Free entry for costumed guests. $10 suggested donation for all else.

8 PM: Join us for trash themed cocktails and dinner (Mexican Cuisine). Sign a petition against the DSNY's irresponsible actions

8:30 PM: Live music by Liah Alonso

9 PM: Trash-ion Show by Christopher Hardwick. Dress in trash pieces or anything related to "Trash." Pinks Gift Card prizes and giveaways to the winners and best dressed!

9:30 PM: More music, fun and resistance to the trash.

Parking aside, the DSNY hasn't been the best neighbor. On Sept. 27, a surveillance camera captured a DSNY employee dumping trash out of his garbage truck into a planter outside Pinks, ABC 7 reported.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

More trash talk about those garbage trucks parked on 10th Street

More trash talk about those garbage trucks parked on 10th Street

[Photo from yesterday by Vinny & O]

As I first reported on Sept. 18, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is now using part of 10th Street west of First Avenue to park garbage trucks.

The DSNY no longer has use of their garage at 606 W. 30th St., and are relocating their fleet elsewhere, including 10th Street and at Pier 36.

This move has sparked numerous complaints from residents and merchants alike who have called out the problems with the smell, noise and negative impact on business.

The story has since received a good deal of press coverage. Here are a few updates.

• Mayor de Blasio is promising action.

Here's CBS 2 from Wednesday night:

Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to “relieve the immediate pressure” on a residential street in the heart of the East Village that has become a parking lot for Department of Sanitation vehicles.

“Do we want garbage trucks parking on residential streets? Of course not,” said de Blasio. “What we’re trying to do every day is figure out the kind of facilities that will help avoid that in the future.”

• District 2 City Council member Carlina Rivera is not pleased.

Per Patch on Wednesday:

"[The Department of Sanitation] must immediately move their vehicles to locations that do not place an undue burden on our vulnerable constituents and mom-and-pop stores and should engage in a meaningful dialogue with these communities," wrote Councilwoman Carlina Rivera in a recent letter to the Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia.

• This is what the DSNY has to say about the move to 10th Street and other East Side locations.

Per The Villager on Tuesday:

[T]he Sanitation Department says that this is the only option until another garage location is secured.

“In short, we’ve been working for years to find garage space, which is the only solution,” said Belinda Mager, the department’s spokesperson. “This is the option of last resort, and what’s needed to be able to provide essential services to the district.”

• This is getting ugly.

Per ABC 7 last night:

A feud over garbage trucks parking on a residential street in the East Village heated up Thursday after a New York City Sanitation Department employee was captured by a surveillance camera dumping trash out of his garbage truck into a planter on E 10th Street between First and Second Avenues outside Pinks...

• And that Post headline from Sunday:



Aside from 10th Street, garbage trucks are also being parked by P.S. 184 on Cherry Street on the Lower East Side. CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer told me that she's also receiving complaints from many parents there.

Rivera and CB3 officials will be meeting with DSNY officials early next week.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

Noted

The Post picked up on my garbage-trucks-on-10th-Street story... and with the classic headline: "This is why the East Village smells so disgusting."

They spoke with an upset neighbor:

“This is a neighborhood, not a city parking lot,” said outraged East Village condo owner, Michele Matthewman, 50. “I don’t pay the property tax I do to walk out my door to this putrid smell. It’s offensive.”

“We weren’t given any kind of heads up. Nothing,” griped Matthewman, who started a petition to get rid of the trucks that already has 100 signatures. “It’s insanity and it’s just not acceptable.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

[Updated] Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

Community Board 3 officials learned last Thursday during a committee meeting that the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will use part of 10th Street west of First Avenue to park garbage trucks.

By Saturday, new street signs had arrived [per a resident, the signs arrived a few weeks back. See comments], restricting the parking on part of 10th Street west toward Second Avenue to the Department of Sanitation. The trucks arrived on Saturday as well.


[Top two photos by Steven]


[Photo from Saturday]

Everyone was seemingly caught off guard by this parking development, including the Community Board, local business owners and residents.

"There was no discussion or outreach. We are still gathering information on this issue," Trever Holland, chair of CB3's Parks, Recreation, & Waterfront Committee, told me via email. "Most of the questions we asked went unanswered or [the DSNY said] 'we'll get back to you.'"

The DSNY no longer has use of their garage at 606 W. 30th St., and are relocating their fleet elsewhere, including 10th Street and at Pier 36. None of these trucks will be servicing residents within Community Board 3.

"We have very little information from the DSNY, but many, many complaints," CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer said yesterday. "I have never before received so many complaints in such a short time."

In an email, one EVG reader noted: "Over the weekend, three stinky garbage trucks were parked on the block. It was like a wall of stench in front of Pinks and across from Snowdays and Tarallucci e Vino."

Pinks, the bar-restaurant at 242 E. 10th St., is the business most directly impacted by the arrival of the parked trucks.



"I can firmly attest to the fact that Saturday evening the corner of 10th Street and First Avenue is jammed with people, and at that time on Saturdays, Pinks typically has a nice dinner and drinking crowd," said Alex Sassaris, an owner who also bartends on the weekends. "This past Saturday during the same time the bar was practically empty.

"Keep in mind we are a food-service establishment, with the cellar door just a few feet a way from a truck filled with garbage — that's certainly a potential rodent nightmare on our hands."



Rodent potential aside, Sassaris said the trucks parked in front of the bar also present a possible security issue.

"[We are] obstructed from the view of 9th Precinct patrols," he said. "This poses a substantial danger to our patrons and staff for any number of potential threats ... if the police can not have eyes on the bar from the street."


[Image from security footage at Pinks]

Before Theater for the New City moved into its current home at 155 First Ave. near 10th Street in the late 1980s, the Department of Sanitation used the building for storage. As Off the Grid noted in a 2012 feature, "When the Theater for the New City purchased the former First Avenue Retail Market building there was stipulation that they had to still share part of the space with the Sanitation Department for a time."

Apparently there are still facilities for the city to use in the building. According to last week's CB3 committee meeting agenda, Department of Sanitation officials were on-hand to discuss a "reactivation of Section Station at 155-157 First Ave."

It's not immediately clear how long the city plans to park garbage trucks on 10th Street. According to CB3's Holland, sanitation officials said that it will be "temporary" — like five years or longer until they secure a new spot.

"If this is allowed to continue, our business is certainly in jeopardy and all the people we employ could potentially be out of a job," Sassaris said.

--

Updated 9/19

Here's an update from CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer this morning:

I also want to thank the readers who posted information about the trucks. The CB number posted in the comments is not correct — it is a defunct fax number. However, it is not productive to call — we would be doing nothing but answering the phones. Do call 311 and also do submit a "make a complaint" form on the CB website. At this point it would be good to submit only if new information. For example, we just got a complaint through the website that there are now trucks also parking in areas not reserved for the trucks.

CB 3, CB 6 and the council office were informed of this decision shortly before it happened, with little information, and with no input or choice. However, we will be working together to try to have a better resolution.

Noted

A reminder for East Village bar/restaurant owners to continue using industrial-strength trash bags. pic.twitter.com/VZn7i079dA

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) July 9, 2016

East Village is No. 1 in Lower Manhattan for garbage, noise and rodent complaints, study finds

[EVG file photo of 6th Street]

DNAInfo has the results of a RentHop study tracking 311 complaints in six Lower Manhattan neighborhoods.

Here's how this neighborhood stacks up vs. No. 2 Chinatown:

East Village: 680.3 garbage complaints and 572.9 rodent complaints per square mile, 75.5 noise complaints per 1,000 residents

Chinatown: 486.5 garbage complaints and 344.2 rodent complaints per square mile, 47.8 noise complaints per 1,000 residents

You can find an interactive map and more results from the survey here.

Morning!

It's really a nice morning out. Mostly. A reader shared this...

Here on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and B, we opened our doors to quite a spectacle of nature this morning. Pigeons feasting on a large pool of food waste right in the middle of the street... Can't wait until the rats show up!

Really glad someone seems to have thought it would be funny to throw a garbage bag in the middle of the street for cars to crush. Such a refreshing change from the overturned trash cans on the corner of 6th and A.

Apparently a resident will grab a shovel to remove this, but…

I really want to see the meathead who did this clean it up. With his or her bare hands, ideally.

You can dispose of some of that crap that you weren't exactly sure what to do with today

Passing this info along…

Union Square North Plaza, south of 17th St between Park Avenue and Broadway.

The NYC Department of Sanitation is holding a series of SAFE Disposal Events (Solvents, Automotive, Flammable, Electronics) to provide NYC residents with a one-stop method to get rid of harmful household products.

Materials accepted include common household products such as auto fluids, batteries, electronics, strong cleaners, medications, paint, month-old acai bowls and more.

Until 4 p.m. today. (And sorry for the short notice — just heard myself.)

And now, 5 photos of garbage from this weekend

Madison Street, 5:47 p.m., April 23