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The Long East Village Smelly Garbage Truck Nightmare Is Over
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 21, 2019
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 21, 2019
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For over a year, the Sanitation Department had parked several garbage trucks near a department facility on East 10th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues after losing its Manhattan District 6 Garage lease. Ever since, residents have complained about dirty streets, a lack of parking, and an unbearable putrid smell. Today, the City announced that trucks have been relocated and the East Village is now safe for all noses once again. It really shows the power that one well-connected neighborhood can have when it comes together and complains to the NY Post again and again and again and again.
“When New Yorkers want something done, they want it done yesterday, which is why we’d like to thank our neighbors in the East Village for bearing with us while we found a new home for our sanitation trucks,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “We heard their concerns and we’ve responded. Residents can once again enjoy the clean streets and sidewalks that the Department of Sanitation provides without obstruction.”
The trucks had been parked on East 10th Street every night from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m., and all day Sunday. They will be temporarily stationed at Pier 42 in Lower Manhattan, until construction for a Parks Department public space at the pier begins early next year.
Local business owners complained that the smell from the trucks was hurting business around the neighborhood in September 2018: “It all stinks really bad literally and metaphorically,” Alex Sassaris told the Post. “Does the smell of an enormous garbage truck in front of you while you’re eating tacos sound appetizing?” Over this past summer, frustrated residents brought their complaints to local pols, who introduced legislation that would ban the Sanitation Department from parking trash trucks on residential streets, to stop the City from using streets as "its own private parking lot."
“The Sanitation Department provides timely essential services like snow removal and collection to New York City residents,” Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said about the relocation. “To do this, we must be near the neighborhoods we serve and finding garage locations in the city’s tight real estate landscape has been a challenge. Parking on East 10th Street was a matter of last resort, which is why we are happy to have been able to find a suitable alternative that allows us to continue our essential services.”
Of course, the saga isn't quite over yet: they still have to find somewhere else for the trucks once the park starts construction. “I am happy that DSNY is providing the residents and small businesses of East 10th Street with relief from the garbage trucks that have impacted their quality of life for over a year,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera. “But as the park we fought for and secured at Pier 42 begins development in 2020, I look forward to working with the City to find an appropriate, more permanent location for these trucks.”
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garbage
garbage trucks
east village
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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