Bedford-Stuyvesant Residents Demand Removal Of Enormous Junk Pile
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One man's trash may be another man's treasure, but some Brooklyn residents said it is hard to believe that anyone would value what has been piling up in their neighborhood.
As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, the residents want the junk pile gone – now.
From the roof of Alex Juarez's Bedford-Stuyvesant building on Franklin Avenue, the property next door is visible as a bottomless pit – with tires, scrap metal, bicycle parts, old electronics -- you name it.
"It makes the neighborhood look bad because nobody wants to come here," added Alvin Narcisse, who works next door.
Stacked high and contained by only a chain-link fence, residents said the neighborhood junk yard has been growing for years -- the property owner keeps piling it on. His truck and a dumpster are out front, and the garbage is also spilling onto the sidewalk.
"People see that and they're like, 'Oh, this is obviously a place to throw things,'" said neighbor CJ Rabey, "and it just, you know, basically creates a larger trash than is already there."
"I walk my dogs here, and I'm afraid they're going to step in broken glass or you know, eat something that they shouldn't," added Juarez. "A few times, we've seen used needles."
Wendell Keane, the owner of the property, showed up and says he isn't doing anything wrong.
"This is a business of mine," Keane said. "I've been here for 30 odd years when nobody was in this neighborhood -- had my business. All this land is mine. They've been pushing me out."
But not everyone agreed with Keane's contentions, and they were hoping their unanswered complaints to 311 would finally get some action.
The New York City Sanitation Department came to the scene, and told CBS2 the trash on the sidewalk is a violation and will be cleared away.
The department also told CBS2 it is investigating to see what can be done about the pile of junk on the other side of the fence.
