Jan 2, 2013 12:16 PM
While driving along Montauk Highway in recent weeks, Hampton Bays resident Larry Andersen noticed the absence of metal trash cans along his route—and, in some cases, garbage strewn on the sidewalk as a result.
Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor explained this week that his department pulled more than a dozen of the town-owned receptacles from Montauk Highway and Flanders Road, the latter of which is also known as State Route 24, just before Hurricane Sandy hit in late October to prevent them from becoming “projectiles.”
But Mr. Gregor also said this week that he has no plan to return them to their posts.
He said his department does not have the funding—nor is it within its jurisdiction—to maintain public trash cans along county- and state-owned roads. He said he intends to remove... more
Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor explained this week that his department pulled more than a dozen of the town-owned receptacles from Montauk Highway and Flanders Road, the latter of which is also known as State Route 24, just before Hurricane Sandy hit in late October to prevent them from becoming “projectiles.”
But Mr. Gregor also said this week that he has no plan to return them to their posts.
He said his department does not have the funding—nor is it within its jurisdiction—to maintain public trash cans along county- and state-owned roads. He said he intends to remove... more
One is that we have to look at the REAL problem here. Because there's no trash can, it's become acceptable to put your trash on the ground where you please? Maybe our friends and neighbors need to be more mindful and respectful
Two, one of the reasons they pull the garbage cans from those locations is because a lot of people abuse them and dump their household trash there - circumventing the fees paid via the green ...more bags to bring their trash to the dump. When these cans overflow several times a week from household trash - the town spends money cleaning it up, and loses money by not collecting fees.
While I'm forever optimistic that people WILL be mindful and respectful...I'm afraid that just won't happen.
Whatever you discard it was heavier while you were using it or carrying it in a pack. It really boils down to a complete lack of respect for the environment, and in the end oneself and fellow citizens. Justifying littering because "well there's so much trash in the street anyway" is ignorant beyond reproach.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Atlantic ...more Garbage Patch, refuse littering the wetlands and shoulders of the road, is the result of laziness either physical or mental.
People whine and complain and bemoan those on welfare for not taking "personal responsibility". Well heck, if us middle-classers can't be personally responsible to get rid of our refuse, is it really fair to expect more from others?
This is a perfect opportunity for the STPD to employ its expertise. The Chief should post some cops w/ citation books near where the most egregious littering occurs. It will deter transgressors AND possibly bring in enough revenue to cover the cops' salaries while so engaged.
I see what you mean. The STPD should eschew exercising its enforcement powers on county property (like highways.) Capital idea!
Knowing the resourcefulness of the STPD, their oversight of illegally disposed garbage will yield tens of thousands of dollars in revenue, not only from littering fines but from all the other statutory infractions that they can parse from every act of illegal discarding (as they do in vehicle stops.) When their vigilance is publicized, the ...more malefactors will cease their nefarious behavior. The STPD can then return to its normal routine (i.e. bird-dogging motorists and ticketing swimmers) until its particular expertise is needed anew.
to VOS:
I think that citing litterbugs plays uniquely to the STPD's strength. With respect to drunk drivers, on the other hand, they have demonstrated habitual incompetence, being incapable of observing constitutional limitations in their dogged pursuit of the annual "Most DWI Busts" award.
§ 150-5. Prohibited acts.
[Amended 3-23-2004 by L.L. No. 11-2004; 2-28-2006 by L.L. No. 15-2006] It shall be unlawful for any owner of any dog or other domestic animal to permit or allow such dog or other domestic animal, in the Town of Southampton, to:
A. Be at large.
B. ...more Disturb the comfort, peace or repose of any persons in the vicinity by long or frequent noise or odor.
C. Cause damage or destruction to property or commit a nuisance by defecating or urinating upon the premises of a person other than the owner of such dog or domestic animal.
D. Chase or otherwise harass any person in such a manner as reasonable to cause intimidation or to put such person in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm.
E. Defecate on a Town-owned beach recreation facility, park recreation facility, park, recreation center, or the Ocean Beach Area and Bay Beach Area or within 150 feet in proximity to an access road (both Town and Trustee) that has been regulated as a parking-by-permit-only area under Chapter 312, Vehicles and Traffic, without the owner or other responsible person cleaning up such waste.
F. Enter the dune area other than upon a designated walkway (if a walkway is designated and posted) or enter areas restricted and posted for protection of piping plovers and other endangered species.
G. Enter a restricted area that has been duly promulgated as a rule or regulation and posted pursuant to Chapter 111, Beaches, Parks and Waterways, by the Superintendent of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Don't blame the Highway Sup for having to do what we all have to do during the economic turn down, cut back on luxuries. The Town Board eliminated jobs in Town Hall to try to keep taxes down, the Highway Department has the same problems.
Set up a merchant's association fund or local civic group garbage fund and hire a private carter.
I'm shocked that sentence didn't come out of Councilperson Malone's mouth.
Come on folks get serious. Stop gripiing and nitpicking, stop this reliance on services we used to get. You want to keep services you have to pay higher taxes. This isn't SimCity.
Removing dog poop from town beaches is a job made for the STPD. The chief should assign a few undercover officers to beach patrol. In between ticketing criminal pooper perps, the cops can clean up the old poop for a pristine beach.
From another "local" paper:
"Southampton Town officials are planning to create a special blight mitigation fund to pay for litter cleanup on town land.
Officials say they will use about $18,000 taken from town justice court revenue to combat what they call a worsening problem. The money represents 1 percent of the funds raised by the court, after state fees are paid, according ...more to Assistant Town Attorney Carl Benincasa.
"We see this as a growing need. A lot of debris are left on town properties, and we have only limited funds [for cleanup] . . . this is a way of cleaning up the town without being a burden to the taxpayer."
The town board will hold a public hearing on creating the special fund at its meeting Tuesday at 1 p.m., and also could vote to adopt the plan.
The board will also hold a related hearing at the same meeting on a proposal to increase penalties for violating the part of the town code dealing with property maintenance.
Southampton, like other towns, already has the power to go onto private property and clean up, with the costs added to a property owner's tax bill. But that process requires lengthy notice, specific approval by the town board, and, typically, property owners are given several chances to clean up before the town does the work.
Often, houses and lots cleaned up this way have become a neighborhood hazard, with the owner unable to be located or the estate unable to be settled.
The cleanup fund being proposed by the town would deal with smaller littering problems on trails in town parks or handbills left on the town right of way. It would not apply to privately owned property."
to GB I too go out of my way to ask people to pick up after themselves and have even given poop bags to owners (of course ...more loudly so all can hear) to help with the mess. You are correrct in that the slobs should be responsible for the mess left behind.