Mudanza trucks picking up mattresses

"We have an ongoing problem with the Mudanzas (moving) trucks, often not legal, picking up filthy mattresses throughout the East Elmhurst and Corona neighborhoods. We complained to buildings and even the DMV because none of the license plates are from New York state. They park these trucks (sometimes even with the mattresses stored on top) for days in residential streets. We don’t have enough parking as it is now that there is metered parking on both Astoria and Northern Boulevards. No one does anything about this. We plan to try and pursue it again with the appropriate offices, but we know that they are swamped.

We are sick of the quality of life issues in the neighborhood. The most recent thing going on is this ‘rave’ parties with over 100 young adults in attendance. No one does anything to permanently stop repeat offenders from throwing these things, which take place in the middle of the work-week. We emailed Katz’ office about that as well as spoke to the captain at the local precinct. There was property damage when one of these events took place this past Saturday and they usually end with police, fire and ambulance showing up. They were even fighting with the cops (who were outnumbered) to the point that backup had to be called in. A real mess! Thanks for listening." - anonymous

Keepin' it classy in LIC!

From 27th Street in Long Island City. Good luck, pedestrians!

Pan Am garbage heap

From Elmhurst United:

Passed the above Panam location at 8 am, garbage bags still all over the curb with the mattress on top, when I returned at 8.45 am, the mattress was removed but all the black bags were still sitting there, there was a guy standing near those garbage bags, he looked like he was waiting for the garbage truck, also there were a couple of police cars on Queens Blvd near Hillyer with a couple of policemen, not sure what was going on.

11 days later, the trash was still there...

Aren't mattresses supposed to be wrapped in plastic for disposal?

I can see why this shelter should become permanent. It's being run so well.

Bowne Park looking worse for wear

Hi Crappy,

I’m an enormous fan. Thank you for shining a light on the problems in this sorry, run-down borough.

I took these pictures at Bowne Park in Flushing this morning. The two dead turtles are about 10” and 15” in length. Look at how filthy the water is.

I walk my dog and pick up garbage with a number of friends at Bowne every morning. We have lately been seeing a lot of dead squirrels and turtles. The park is poorly maintained with rarely a Dept. of Parks presence. Please note today’s addition of a discarded mattress.

We’re all so pleased that the Dept. of Parks allocated 500K for an additional bocce court when they can’t even afford a minimum wage full-time employee!!! Could you please post these pictures and possibly embarrass the hell out of our local pols and the Parks Dept.?

Thank you so much.

Regards,

nycRed714


Follow up:

Hi Crappy -

I sent the two Bowne Park pix to Tony Avella and he wrote a letter
addressing the situation on the same day! He's just an amazingly great guy!

Regards,

nycRed714

Bowne Park letter

Haul-a-Mattress

Why dispose of mattresses properly when you can just toss them on an LIRR bridge for someone else to garbage pick? Any doubt these are full of critters?

Don't let bedbugs bite you twice!

From the Queens Gazette:

The city Department of Sanitation (DOS) inspectors have handed out more than 4,500 violations so far this year involving new rules regulating disposal of bedding within the five boroughs, DOS officials said.

Under the regulations that went into effect on January 5, all bedding, including mattresses, box springs, sofa beds, sheets, blankets, pillows are required to be wrapped in sealed plastic when left curbside for collection by DOS workers.
The new rule calls for all bedding to be wrapped whether or not it is infested with bed bugs.

A recent agency report shows that DOS inspectors have issued 4,345 violations, including 701 in Queens, to homeowners, superintendents and landlords who placed unwrapped bedding curbside for collection in the first three months of 2011. Violators get a $100 fine for ignoring the rules.

The Red Crow flies at dawn

From the Newtown Pentacle:

One of the rules of dumpster diving in the City of Greater New York dictates that mattresses are not a desirable item and are in fact avoided like lepers. If its on the street, there’s either an infestation or somebody died on it, and Bedbugs can jump like Fleas. Essentially valueless as a manufactured good, the general custom is for the merchant that sold and delivered your bedding is to remove and dispose of the old mattress- often at no cost. Nobody really wants a used mattress. What, then, would motivate this incongruously well dressed Crow into such an odd pursuit?

Steel springs, the coil structure within the bedding, are highly prized items for recycling. The reason that its not economical for a commercial enterprise to do so is the cost of removing the deeply embedded metal from its surrounding padding and removal of the metals using electromagnetics. Mattress merchants factor the cost of this process into every new bed sold, by statute in some places.

Somewhere, whether it be in the backyard of an isolated house in Flushing or an empty lot along the Newtown Creek in Greenpoint or East Williamsburg, the steel springs will be freed and the charred padding discarded. Elsewhere, plastic insulation will be melted off copper wire and tires will be melted open to reveal their internal steel belting. The Crows will clean up after themselves and no one will be the wiser for the extra tax free bucks that they pick up off the streets.