Trash-Strewn MTA Lot Riles Dutch Kills Residents

Photo Liz Goff This debris-strewn lot on MTA property has Dutch Kills residents seeing red.

Residents in the Dutch Kills community are fighting mad over the condition of a trash-strewn MTA training facility in their neighborhood.

Dutch Kills Civic Association Executive Director George Stamatiades told the Gazette last week that residents are "sick and tired" of the way Sanitation inspectors are turning their heads at the piles of trash outside the facility at 31st Street and 39th Avenue.

"They can fine little old ladies for a gum wrapper on the sidewalk, but they can't do anything about the condition of this facility," Stamatiades said.

The problem stems from trash that has piled up along a fence that runs outside the training center, which is located on a triangular block that runs along 31st Street and from 39th Avenue to Northern Boulevard.

Dutch Kills president Gerald Walsh echoed the complaint, adding that the civic association has called on local politicians and city Sanitation officials for their help in cleaning up the area. All requests have fallen on deaf ears, Walsh said. "It's an unsightly mess. And the MTA does nothing to clean it up."

Meanwhile, the Gazette spotted an almost identical trash condition outside St. George's Coptic Orthodox Church, located at 31st Street and 39th Avenue, adjacent to the MTA facility. Sidewalks and grassy patches on both sides of a fence surrounding the church were cluttered with a large number of discarded newspapers, coffee cups, water bottles and soda cans. Nearby homeowners said sidewalks outside the church are often cluttered with trash.

"They clean it once in a while," said a homeowner who gave his name as Nick. "But it usually stays dirty for a few days before they get around to it. They pretty much do what they want." Church and MTA officials were unavailable for comment, and officials at the City Department of Sanitation did not respond to calls .

A spokesperson for City Councilmember Eric Gioia said she was not aware of a complaint from the civic association regarding the condition of the MTA property.

"We will definitely contact the Dutch Kills Civic Association to determine how we can best assist them in resolving the problem," the spokesperson said.--Liz Goff