New cleaning initiative in Bensonhurst, Coney Island

A clean sweep is just around the corner.

On Friday, November 14, Councilmember Mark Treyger was joined by local dignitaries, the New York City Department of Sanitation, representatives of the DOE Fund and community advocates at the corner of 18^th Avenue and 86^th Street to discuss a new clean streets initiative that will span from 18^th Avenue and 86^th Street to Stillwell Avenue. The plan also calls for additional focus on busy strips including Bay Parkway, 20th Avenue, 23rd Avenue and 25th Avenue.

“Many of the merchants’ concerns were lack of litter baskets, lack of services,” said Treyger. “We are going to continue to monitor this initiative. If adjustments have to be made, we’ll make those adjustments and give more funding as well.”
To enable the program to come to fruition, Treyger has allocated of $28,000 to the DSNY and $8,000 to the DOE Fund receiving $8,000, which will be combined with funding from Councilmember Vincent Gentile.

Among the services that the added city funds will pay for are “additional motorized litter patrol on Thursdays and Fridays and extra litter basket service along Bay Parkway, 20th Avenue, 23^rd Avenue and 25th Avenue, Monday, Tuesday and Saturdays for 26 weeks starting September 16,” Treyger said. “We are also getting a dozen brand new litter baskets, ones that you can’t just throw your household trash in because those were problematic in the past where people would dump household trash. These are the ones that have coverings on top.”
“Clean streets are a source of great community pride. Everyone deserves a clean and safe place to live and work,” said Gentile. “Indeed, the backbone of our neighborhoods is the mom and pop shops that line our main thoroughfares. These folks need and deserve all of our support, every day.”

Assemblymember William Colton was also in attendance to discuss the benefits of the new plan. “One of the top complaints we have among families in this area is that the neighborhood is dirty, and we need to keep it clean because it creates a certain environment when you have clean streets,” he said. “Businesses do better and you have less crime, less tension, less stress and better health. This initiative is exciting because it represents a partnership between individual s, government and neighborhood organizations.”

Treyger also described plans for sections of Coney Island. “One of the spots we really need to pay more attention to is Mermaid Avenue. I want to comment the Alliance for Coney Island. They have taken it upon themselves to start a program where children and young adults are cleaning up parts of the already,” he said. “We will beautify Mermaid Avenue with more trees. The greener we are, the more resilient we will be when it comes to flooding.

“We are serious about trying to keep our neighborhood clean. The people of this area deserve it,” Treyger concluded. “They pay taxes like everyone else. They deserve to have clean streets and neighborhoods.”