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Nosy Neighbor: Why Is There Always Trash Outside the Post Office?
Do you know why there is frequently trash in front of the post office on Church Street? I walk past there most mornings and it’s regularly littered in debris and papers. —J.
As you can see above, we’re talking about the post office at Canal (rather the one at Barclay). My theory is that trash, blown northward by the blustery Church Street wind, gets caught under the U.S. Postal Service vans double-parked there overnight. Once the vans leave for their rounds, we’re left with a mess—and that’s also why it’s only on the west side of the street. Moreover, the winds tends to swirl there; many days, you walk on that sidewalk at your own peril.
I checked in with the folks at Church Street Surplus, across the way, who concurred. They had “no hard data to contribute, just years of observation and annoyance,” but they did say that the post office does come out, usually in late afternoon, to collect the trash and deposit it in the garbage cans on the corner. We agreed that a morning sweep would be more productive. Anyone want to volunteer running that by the U.S.P.S.?
Got a question? Email tribecacitizen@gmail.com.
Previous Nosy Neighbor posts:
• What’s Butler?
• What are these new blue parking signs?
• What’s this thing embedded in the sidewalk?
• Where can I buy photos of old Tribeca?
• Is Distilled now a café during the day?
• Wasn’t the World Trade Center Greenmarket supposed to be open by now?
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• Why does 3 World Trade Center have tailpipes?
• What’s that thing on 60 Hudson’s roof?
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• Why does 1 World Trade Center look so unfinished at night?
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• Why is the Duane Park flag almost always at half-staff?
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• Where can I get breakfast in Tribeca?
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• What’s coming to the Cosmopolitan Hotel’s storefronts?
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• What’s that new building next to 30 Park Place?
• Is this rooftop addition legal?
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• What’s the story behind the lights at 289 Church?
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6 Comments
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I can hardly ask to buy a stamp from those salty ladies at canal street station without getting an annoyed sigh and a dirty look.
We’ve reported them many times to 311, but nothing seems to happen. Meanwhile we get a citation if there are cigarette butts on our sidewalk.
32 6th Ave aka KTU building generates wind tunnel. You can notice there is a always winds even other Streets do not have any winds.
Lesbenard Street and Walker Street are also under this wind tunnel generated by 32 6th Ave.
Back in old days architecture was not done correctly to address this issue
There is always trash outside the Post Office because Department of Sanitation does not enforce the law there (or uniformly throughout Tribeca, apparently). This Post Office has not been issued a single summons for failure to clean the sidewalk and/or 18 inches into the street in the last 5 years.
New York City Administrative Code § 16-118 Littering prohibited. […] 2. (a) Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or person in charge of any building or premises shall keep and cause to be kept the sidewalk, flagging and curbstone abutting said building or premises free from obstruction and nuisances of every kind, and shall keep said sidewalks, flagging, curbstones, and air shafts, areaways, backyards, courts and alleys free from garbage, refuse, rubbish, litter, debris and other offensive material. Such persons shall also remove garbage, refuse, rubbish, litter, debris and other offensive material between the curbstone abutting the building or premises and the roadway area extending one and one-half feet from the curbstone into the street on which the building or premises front. Such persons shall not, however, be responsible for cleaning the garbage, refuse, rubbish, litter, debris and other offensive material which accumulates at catch basins located within the one and one-half foot distance from the curbstone into the street.
Over the last 5 years, per NYC Opendata the median number of such summonses issued to each Tribeca-10013 address is about 2 and the average is about 4. However,
1.) About 14% of the addresses account for 50% of the dirty sidewalk and gutter summonses. About 40% of the addresses account for 80% of the dirty sidewalk and gutter summonses.
2.) There are particular addresses that Sanitation Agents hit repeatedly, most miraculously nearby the Sanitation District 1 office at 7 N. Moore Street, and yet somehow they miss the garbage dump that is the Canal Street Post Office.
Top Addresses for 2012-2016 Dirty Sidewalk and Gutter Summonses
42 — 88 READE STREET
35 — 72 FRANKLIN STREET
31 — 43 LISPENARD STREET
31 — 4-6 WHITE STREET
29 — 10 WHITE STREET
26 — 102 FRANKLIN STREET
25 — 363 GREENWICH STREET
24 — 46 WALKER STREET
23 — 18 HARRISON STREET
22 — 153 FRANKLIN STREET
21 — 89 READE STREET
20 — 149 FRANKLIN STREET
19 — 77 WHITE STREET
18 — 143 DUANE STREET
18 — 47 WALKER STREET
17 — 71 LEONARD STREET
17 — 53 LISPENARD STREET
16 — 142 DUANE STREET
16 — 155 FRANKLIN STREET
16 — 77 FRANKLIN STREET
complain to the Postmaster
He or she is probably too busy trying to fix the myriad problems with local mail delivery coming out of that station.