Illegal conversions partly to blame for Jamaica trash problem

From NY1:

There is trash and mounds of garbage in many people's yards and on the streets of the Jamaica section of Queens, but in this third part of her week-long series, borough reporter Ruschell Boone spoke with residents on why the area has this problem.

They walk by it every day, but it is clear many in the Jamaica section of Queens are not affected by the garbage that surrounds them.

"I'm not the one that's dropping it," one local said.

A local business owner, however, told NY1 he is fed up with cleaning up the garbage in front of his storefront.

"It is frustrating to clean up someone else's garbage," he said.

The district manager for the community board did not know where the trash came from, but he said there are a number of reasons for the pile-up, including the high number of illegal apartments and absentee landlords.

Those tenants often dump their trash elsewhere to avoid detection and landlords often live miles away from their property.

Yvonne Reddick, who has lived in the community for decades, said, "These absentee landlords need to make sure that their tenant is placing the garbage out correctly."

Reddick said many of the newer residents are not storing and discarding their garbage correctly either.

"We have an extremely diverse community. Some of our neighbors have to be educated as to how to put their garbage out," Reddick said.

The Department Of Sanitation says it is working on a community outreach program to address all of these issues.