COURIER L 4 IFE, JULY 24-30, 2020
New initiative looks
to clean up Coney
Trash littering Coney Island streets. Photo by Erica Price
BY ROSE ADAMS
A new sanitation initiative
launched by a Coney Island business
group will clean the streets along the
neighborhood’s amusement district,
which have seen a record-breaking
amount of litter this summer, locals
say.
“It’s disgusting,” said Brighton
Beach resident Craig Hammerman,
who claimed the People’s Playground
has “defi nitely” seen more trash
build-up than last summer. “It’s so
sad to see the garbage thats left on
the beach.”
The Supplemental Sanitation Services,
sponsored by the Alliance for
Coney Island, will sweep the streets
between W. Eighth and W. 21st from
Surf Avenue to the boardwalk from
Friday to Monday. Workers will also
clean the tree beds — extracting
fallen leaves — and empty the garbage
cans throughout the district.
The cleaning initiative, which the
Alliance for Coney Island has provided
every summer since 2013, will
likely improve the condition of the
amusement district’s roads, which
have seen a surprising amount of litter
this year, said the Alliance’s director.
“People seem to be more careless
this year with their trash,” said Alexandra
Silversmith.
The Alliance usually kicks off
the program at the beginning of the
amusement park’s season in April,
but funding shortages due to the coronavirus
outbreak have delayed the
initiative’s start and limited the days
that sanitation workers will sweep
the streets, Silversmith added.
“We’re not at full capacity, so I do
see that unfortunately it doesn’t meet
the need as much as we would like,”
she said, but added that the program
will still help the streets’ condition,
despite its limitations. “It does make
a difference.”
The sanitation initiative comes
as locals report widespread trash
buildup across the People’s Playground,
which one local leader attributed
in part to a shortage of Parks
Department workers.
“It’s hard to clean up still because
sanitation is short manpower,” said
Eddie Mark, the district manager of
the local community board. “There’s
not your standard routine happening
out there.”
In addition to shortages within
the Parks Department, which is responsible
for maintaining the boardwalk
and beach, Luna Park’s closure
may also contribute to the buildup in
trash, since their workers also tend
to keep the public areas clean, Mark
said.
“Their staff people usually clean
the rides and the outside area, but because
those amusement rides aren’t
open, there’s no one to clean up,” he
said.
The boardwalk and the amusement
zone have seen the largest
buildup of trash, with face masks,
bottles, and food straps overfl owing
out of the garbage cans, one local
said.
“Last week, I was out there, and
the garbage cans were overfl owing.
It was a breezy day, and the trash
was all over the amusement zone,”
said Orlando Mendez. “That particular
day, I was pretty much in shock of
how much trash I saw.”
Brighton Beach has also seen its
fair share of litter, particularly on
the beach, prompting one local to
clean up the trash he saw whenever
he made a trip to the shore.
“I’m out there every other day or
so, and on my way back as I’m leaving,
I fi ll plastic bags with garbage,”
said Hammerman, who noted that
he’s seen other beachgoers start to
follow suit. “It’s not just me picking
up the garbage anymore. Lately, I’ve
seen more people getting into the
habit of doing that.”
And while the sanitation program
won’t clean the boardwalk or the
beach, Mark said that its helped signifi
cantly improve the district’s appearance
in years passed.
“It’s good for the neighborhood,”
he said. “It would defi nitely help the
area.”