Garbage Trucks Have Turned East Village Block Into Urinal: Locals

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Garbage trucks parked on an East Village street have turned the block into a public toilet on weekends and locals fear that the wall of coverage could lead to violent crime, say residents and business owners.

The city's Department of Sanitation began parking 21 garbage trucks on three East Side streets after its lease expired at a Hudson Yards garage last month, which includes E. 10th Street between First and Second avenues in the Village. Community members have filed a litany of complaints with local officials and slammed the move for using the residential block as a last-minute dumping ground for the trucks.

The trucks reek of garbage, are an attraction for rats and now have turned into a popular spot for buzzed bar-goers to relieve themselves behind the 12-foot high trash compactors, which block views of the sidewalk, said an owner of a nearby bar.

"It’s unbelievable. They don’t care because cops can’t see the block behind the trucks, so it’s just carefree urination now for drunk guys stumbling home at two in the morning," said Alex Sassaris, a co-owner of Pinks, which is hosting a "Trash Bash" Thursday, Oct. 11 to protest the trucks.

(For updates on thegarbage trucks and other East Village news, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

A video obtained by Patch, taken by a Pinks security guard on a recent weekend, shows a man passing water up against a garbage truck mere steps from the bar. But the bar's owners worry that the public urination could be a signal of things to come.

"The real point about that is, the urination is disgusting, but now they have safe cover for people to be doing things that they shouldn’t be doing," said Avi Burns, Sassaris' business partner and co-owner of Pinks. "So that could turn into robbery, into fights, into sexual assault."

A southern stretch of E. 10th Street is designated for the trucks and Department of Sanitation marked cars, but the vehicles sometimes line both sides of the street and block fire hydrants, which has neighbors on edge after a six-alarm blaze tore through a First Avenue building two blocks away.

"If there was a fire on this block how would they get to us?" groused Andrew Secular, 58, who has lived on the block for 16 years with his wife Gail. "I’m not trying to put my problems on another block, but there are so many dead spots where they could put these trucks. It's infuriating they put them here."

The East Side streets were selected because they are near Department of Sanitation stations where workers receive orders and can use restrooms and locker space, according to agency spokeswoman Belinda Mager.

But the sanitation workers haven't always made for courteous neighbors with one caught on camera tossing trash into a sidewalk planter and another who parked a sanitation-marked car in the bike lane on First Avenue — which is around the corner and not even on the same street as the designated parking area.

Department of Sanitation cars parked in the First Avenue bike lane at E. 10th Street and near fire hydrants. (Photos courtesy of Gail Secular)

"The Department is committed to being the best neighbor possible at all times," said Mager. "We will speak to our staff about residents’ and cyclists’ concerns and remind them to observe posted parking regulations."

While the city has said parking on the block is only temporary, the vehicles could still remain on the street for years. Community Board 3 and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera sat down with the Department of Sanitation on Oct. 1 to discuss the situation and have urged the agency to consider parking on First Avenue as an immediate alternative to the residential side street.

The department is reviewing that option, but said that other city agencies, such as the Department of Transportation, may need to be involved before a new location is selected, according to Mager.

"It seems like a relatively easy thing to do," Susan Stetzer, Community Board 3's district manager said at a Tuesday Transportation, Public Safety and Environment Committee meeting. "[The Department of Sanitation] told us they would get back to us at the end of last week with a timeline of investigating that. They did not have information ready, they did not have information ready today."

City officials have known for years that the Department of Sanitation's lease was going to expire at the Hudson Yards depot, which partially motivated a 2014 proposal to build a garage in Gramercy bounded by E. 25th Street and Bellevue Drive, and First Avenue and FDR Drive.

The project, which is being developed by the Department of Sanitation and the Economic Development Cooperation, began the public review process in 2015 but has since been stuck in environmental reviews, according to Mager.

It is unclear if the city is looking to fast-track the project as a permanent solution to the East Side garbage truck woes, or if it is even moving forward any time soon.

“We’re continuing to work with the City Council to find a way to move this important project forward,” said Shavone Williams, a spokeswoman with the city’s Economic Development Corporation

Lead photo courtesy of Caroline Spivack/Patch