4 times • JUNE 11, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com Ridgewood/Bushwick rat problems BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport Aw, rats! Residents of Himrod Street on the Ridgewood/ Bushwick border in Brooklyn have noticed an increase in the number of rats they have seen on their block and are looking for a solution. Pauline Bruscarino, a resident of Himrod Street for 39 years, says she has seen rats roaming the neighborhood almost every night. “Every night before I go to bed, I look out my window and I see them,” Bruscarino said. “At first I called 911 because I didn’t know who to call.” “The thing is, we have a lot of kids on the block,” Bruscarino continued. “On the morning of June 7, I was outside at six o’clock doing the garbage, when all of a sudden I see this rat. Four times it passed me. Then it jumped…so something has to be done before it bites somebody.” After going through 911 and 311, Bruscarino said that she was told that she had to wait before someone could get down to the area to inspect the problem. “See, what we’re afraid of is that they’re going to start getting into the houses,” said Marie Lekoski, a resident of Himrod Street for 10 years. Lekoski, and several other residents of Himrod Street, have also called 311 and logged complaints about the rats. “Now I just called again this morning,” Lekoski said. “The woman said the status was that the Department of Health had to determine what to do about it.” On the morning of June 5, Bruscarino said that a city inspector was seen on the block, investigating the problem. After going through the area, the inspector told Bruscarino that the landlords of the residents complaining about seeing rats are responsible for getting rid of the rats. If nothing is done by the landlords, then the city takes its own action to wipe out the vermin, then sends the landlords the bill. “The inspector said she would send a notice to the landlords because she checked and there were some droppings,” Bruscarino said. “She said she would send a notice and if it is not done in a certain time, the city would do it and they will bill the landlords.” Now, residents have to wait and see if the landlords take action before the city sends out notices. RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photos by Anthony Giudice Residents in Ridgewood and Bushwick chain rat sightings are on the rise. Myrtle Avenue BID seeks increased trash pickup service BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport Full and overflowing public wastebaskets are a common sight on Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood, and the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) is looking to do something about it. In the fiscal year 2016 expense budget, the Myrtle Avenue BID has requested the restoration of six-day dedicated basket pickup service from the Department of Sanitation (DSNY). Currently, this service is only being provided three days a week within the Myrtle Avenue BID. The present service consists of a dedicated basket run on only Mondays and Wednesdays on the midnight to 8 a.m. tour. On Thursdays, the garbage baskets in the Myrtle Avenue BID often go uncollected because household refuse takes priority. “Overflowing corner baskets are the first thing shoppers and potential new store owners see along our shopping districts,” said Ted Renz of the Myrtle Avenue BID in a statement to the Ridgewood Times. “They are an eyesore and create an unpleasant shopping environment.” Comparable business improvement districts, such as the Greenpoint Avenue/Queens Boulevard Sunnyside Shines BID and the Steinway Street BID, have at the minimum five- to six-day corner basket pickup service between the dedicated basket truck and regular household pickup. The Myrtle Avenue BID, along with the Ridgewood Local Development Corporation (RLDC), is looking for similar service for not only the BID’s area, but for all major commercial retail business corridors within Community Board 5. Those areas include Myrtle Avenue between Fresh Pond Road and Cooper Avenue, Fresh Pond Road between Myrtle Avenue and Eliot Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue between 73rd Place and 80th Street, and Grand Avenue between Flushing Avenue and 74th Street. Throughout the fiscal year 2016 budget process, the Myrtle Avenue BID and RLDC have testified regarding this need during different capital and expense budget hearings. They have also met with Councilman Antonio Reynoso and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley on the issue. “Recently we did receive some good news that Myrtle Avenue will receive extra service on Tuesday and Saturday and that corner baskets would be given special attention because on those days there is a dedicated half mobile litter patrol,” Renz said. “Therefore, while we are grateful for this response, we will need to push for dedicated basket routes.” RIDGEWOOD TIMES/File photo The Myrtle Avenue BID is looking to get six-day dedicated trash pickup from the Sanitation Department along Myrtle Avenue. TIMES NEWSWEEKLY (USPS 465-940) is published weekly by Schneps NY Media LLC, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, NY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times, P.O. Box 863299, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386-0299.
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