Local Blogger Showcases "Filth" Of Forest Hills

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS -- One Forest Hills resident is fed up with seeing garbage pile up in his neighborhood, and he's taken to the internet to do something about it.

Joe, who declined to give his last name, recently launched a Wordpress blog titled "The Filth of Forest Hills" to document the neighborhood's alleged trash problem and chide city officials who he said have refused to address it.

"There's no reason why garbage should be piling up on a street corner for days and days," Joe told Patch.

In his first blog post in late February, Joe took aim at a section of Queens Boulevard that he's dubbed "Skid Row." He claimed the roadway between Union Turnpike and 78th Avenue has turned into a dumping ground for empty cups, plastic bags, alcohol shooters and garbage bags.

"I just photographed the stuff I saw and put it up on a blog to get it some attention," Joe said. "If this doesn't get taken care of, this is just going to be another community that sees its quality of life go downhill."

Joe also vented on his blog about the panhandlers that he claims regularly line "Skid Row," most notably outside the Starbucks at 118-24 Queens Blvd. and nearby establishments.

"The homeless seem to just be allowed carte blanche to do whatever they want out there," he said.

Joe said he moved to Forest Hills from Jamaica in November to escape panhandlers and trash-filled streets. Instead, he finds himself passing the same garbage day in and day out along Queens Boulevard.

"The Filth of Forest Hills" has amassed more than 550 hits in the two weeks since it went live. Joe said it's garnered a slew of commenters also complaining that the neighborhood has gone downhill.

Joe said he's sent his photos to Queens Borough Hall, local community boards and city council members but has so far received no response.

"I would file a complaint - Eventually some of it would get cleaned up, and some of it wouldn't," he said.

But when Joe reached out to Starbucks about the garbage littering their storefront, he was pleasantly surprised. A customer care representative wrote him back the same day.

The message read, in part: "Joe, I apologize for the disappointing experience you had at the store. This is not the experience we want you to have at our stores. I want you to know that we take your concerns seriously and I will share your feedback with the District Manager to address this."

Since then, he said the storefront has been kept clean and free of panhandlers.

But Joe noted the street still has a long way to go before shedding the "Skid Row" nickname. Piles of garbage still litter virtually every other storefront on the roadway, he said.

"Whenever I have time, I'll keep pounding at this," Joe said of his blog. "I figure, why not? Maybe it might shame them into doing something about this."

Lead photos courtesy of Joe/The Filth of Forest Hills.