Filthy Howard Beach supermarket

From the Forum:

Residents of 95th Street called the office of The Forum on Monday afternoon to express their outrage over a man they claimed was partially unclothed and taking a bath in the parking lot at the Howard Beach Waldbaum’s on Cross Bay Boulevard.

The homeless man was unclothed from the waist up and was bathing with pans of water and rags—his belongings in plastic bags. He sat near the fence in the parking lot and told The Forum that he does so regularly and has never been approached to leave. Asked if he ever used drugs in the parking lot he asked, “Who can afford them?

This disturbing event is the latest thing that has greatly upset the homeowners in their battle to get things done to improve conditions at the store and in the lot.

Resident Neil Iovino, who has spearheaded the effort on his block, says the situation has become untenable and that little changes have been made but the serious issues –drug paraphernalia, garbage, damage from shopping carts left on the street and in driveways–have not been addressed at all.

Now the residents have taken their battle one step further by submitting a signed petition—by nearly 60 residents– to the corporate office of the store. The petition calls for several demands that Iovino says are essential to his neighbors and to the whole community.