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NEW YORK—On Webster Avenue in the Bronx, between Gun Hill Road and 233rd Street, Mr. Dart Westphal says he sees pretty much anything get dumped, including couches, garbage, construction debris, carpet installation and leftover wooden strips with nails. The property is technically owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, however when Westphal, president of the Moshulu Preservation Corporation, approached the MTA, they only claimed responsibility for needing to clean where the entrance to the station is.
Finally, the filth got so bad that neighborhood organizations were forced to hire the same cleaning service used by "Adopt-A-Highway" programs to keep the area clean.
"We gave up," said Westphal. "…It's more energy to fight them than to spend the money to have it cleaned."
Westphal is one of three New York City residents featured in a new investigative report issued by the City Council. The report titled, "The Eyesore Next Door," criticizes the MTA for not taking responsibility for neglected property it owns near subways and trains throughout the city.
"The MTA must clean up its act," said Councilmember Eric Gioia at a March 12 City Hall news conference. "…If private landlords leave their property in this state, they're hit with tickets, fines and violations."
Another New Yorker featured in the report Anna Parathyras has lived next to the Long Island Rail Road tracks in Woodside, Queens since 1950 and has had to pay fines for garbage that was dumped near the tracks.
"Throughout the years, it's gotten worse," said Parathyras.
Councilmember John Liu said, "…we have been inundated with complaints about these unsanitary conditions. Time and time again we find it's MTA property."
In a written letter, the MTA said that the city's Department of Transportation and Department of Sanitation should be responsible for keeping these areas clean. The Department of Transportation should place no dumping signs and the Department of Sanitation should be responsible for cleaning up any garbage, they said.
When Councilmember Gioia inquired with the Department of Transportation, they pointed the finger back at the MTA.
"What you have is interagency finger-pointing… Citizens shouldn't have to suffer in the meantime," said Gioia.
A Solution?
The MTA's network of subways and trains covers 5,000 miles, connecting New York City with Long Island and part of southeastern New York State and Connecticut. Their property stretches across 94 neighborhoods in the city. Should they ever claim responsibility for the cleanliness of their vast property, the MTA would clearly face a daunting, possibly unreasonable task.
However, critics remain unconvinced of the MTA's professed inability to keep their property clean.
Queens resident David Rosasco lived in Tokyo for 11 years and found that the Japanese metropolis always managed to keep its vast subway system and surrounding streets clean. Rosasco, who owns a translation business in Woodside, Queens, said he is embarrassed when his overseas customers visit him and see the condition of the city.
"If the MTA doesn't know what they are doing they might want to contact their counterpart in Tokyo or in many European countries and find out how to do it," said Rosasco.
With modern technology and some diligent effort, Councilmember Gioia feels the MTA's huge maintenance job is definitely manageable.
"I reject the premise that they cannot turn it around," said Gioia.
Gioia's action plan includes having the MTA install better lighting around tracks to deter dumping and graffiti, and installing security cameras in problem areas.
Another aspect of the plan is something Gioia thought up called "TransitStat," which would create criteria for monitoring the cleanliness of MTA property and allow the public go online and track the MTA's performance. With the same type of system, the city tracked the number of crimes in each neighborhood and was able to turn around the crime rate, said Gioia.
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