To try and combat this problem and litter in general I hired my friendly neighborhood homeless guy. I contacted many of my neighbors of which about a dozen households (myself included) donated $20 +. I use a portion these funds to pay him at the end of the week. He's responsible for clearing litter on our block the days after garbage pick up. That also includes the corner grates.

Seeing as the city doesn't do it's job and as long as ignorant people continue to think it's ok to litter this is the best option I could think of.

Other than having to deal with emailing neighbors, collecting funds, managing the homeless guy and managing the funds...the block looks a lot better.

I live on 5th between monmouth and coles.

I would also like to reiterate: If you see (or smell) a problem with the sewers on your street, call the JCMUA. They are pretty responsive.

A few summers ago, we had a sewer collapse in front of our building that affected our units and they were on the scene immediately and until the problem was resolved.

I don't bother calling if there is some litter on top of the drains. That's an easy chore I don't mind doing, and my neighbors appreciate it.

On the other hand, if a drain is blocked and stagnant, I will contact the utility authority.

You can make a service request to have the catchbasin cleaned here:
http://mygovhelp.com/jerseycitynj/_cs/RequestSelect.aspx

They seem to be pretty responsive - it took about 2-3 days for them to clean out our catchbasin after I made a request last fall.

Quote:

So you are admitting that there is a difference between people in the city and people in the suburbs? City people are dirty scumbags? Laziness is more acceptable here? You need to get down to city hall and fill out an application.

Quote:

They also like to use my bushes as a trash can. Every week I pull bottles of cheap beer, malt liquor, Snapple, soda, etc.

It's the JCMUA's responsibility to keep the inside of the catch basins and the sewer pipes clean.

It is the JCIA's responsibility to keep the streets and the top of the catch basins free of litter.

I would call the JCIA any time a substantial amount of liter has accumulated on top of a catch basin or if you are in an area that floods I would call them out before an oncoming storm. If the water doesn't go down then it goes into someone's home.

Mechanical Street Cleaning
(201) 432-4645 ext. 675

I've noticed this too, all over the city. It's disgusting.

My corner was a disaster. The other day I took it upon myself to clean all the catch basins and curb lines on my block.

Hello and welcome to the big city. There's litter. Nice of you to move here from your sheltered burg, Vigilante.

...

(yes, I know)

Part of the problem is that these agencies don't do their job but it's also that people are allowed to litter at will...

If a cop sees a person littering, it should be a 500 dollar fine automatically. Can't pay, go to jail. There should be no reason why you have to litter....

Still have that element that think it's fine to throw trash in the streets. Disgusting and sad.

Not sure if this is JCMUA or the Incinerator Authority's job..

I noticed that the storm grates on my block have gotten quite buried in a sea of glass, paper, and plastic soda bottles. With the approaching thunderstorms, I went ahead and cleaned the ones off in front of my building (almost filling a 39 gal trash can).

Is this the new normal? If it is.. we may have some aggravated street flooding problems, unless more volunteer to keep the grates cleaned.