Demanding Answers: Brooklyn Neighbors Say City Not Doing Enough To Clean Up Trash Surrounding House
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A house in Brooklyn is surrounded with piles of trash, and neighbors say the city is not doing enough about it.
Neighbors called CBS2 looking for help in getting the mess cleaned up.
As CBS2's Ilana Gold reported, you can't miss the eyesore on 57th Street in Borough Park by New Utrecht Avenue. The entire length of the driveway is covered in trash -- luggage, furniture and debris stacked 5 feet high.
"It's just disgusting living next door," said a neighbor, who didn't want CBS2 to use his name.
The man said he's been looking at the mess feet away from his doorstep since August and says it's attracting pests.
Some people who live nearby have been so concerned they even set up traps and recorded video of a raccoon in one of them after it rummaged through the garbage.
They also worry about a fire hazard.
"My kids are just afraid to walk out from the side entrance," the neighbor said.
The neighbor said he called the city to complain dozens of times and that nothing has been done so far.
"I asked them, begged them, 'Please help me try to clean this up,'" he said.
CBS2 went to the home in question and saw citations from the city dating back to Nov. 16. No one answered the door there.
Community leader Yidel Perlstein says the city needs to take more drastic measures.
"Nobody in the city should be forced to live like this," he said.
The Health Department said it has been dealing with the issue since receiving the initial complaint, but added that it's a challenge since the trash is on private property.
A spokesperson told CBS2 the property failed an inspection and the owner has been ordered to remove the debris and even was fined several times.
On Friday, CBS2 told the agency what it saw. The Health Department says the next step could be increasing the penalties. The agency said it's going to send another inspector there to see what other measures the city can legally take to get the property cleaned up.
