Dyker Heights

Dyker Heights officials urge City to solve trash problems

December 11, 2018 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
When the sun comes up and the tourists have gone home after seeing the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Display, the streets of the neighborhood are filled with sights like this: an overflowing garbage cans. Photo by Tom Hilton
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The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Display is getting extra attention from the city this year, according to a local lawmaker who said the Department of Sanitation will be coming into the neighborhood more often to pick up garbage tossed by visiting tourists.

Councilmember Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst) said Department of Sanitation officials agreed to his request for additional collections of trash from baskets on the streets.

Longtime Dyker Heights residents have been complaining to local officials about the overflowing trash cans. “It’s a mess. And we’re not the ones doing it. It’s the tourists,” one woman told the Brooklyn Eagle.

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The trashy condition of Dyker Heights streets has also been a topic of discussion on social media sites like Facebook, where dozens of residents have posted comments.

In another development, NYPD has assigned additional cops to the community for traffic control and to ensure public safety, Brannan said.

“I requested additional cops to help keep things under control and to direct traffic. The NYPD agreed and will give us more resources. I also requested additional trash cans and more garbage pick-ups and that was also granted by DSNY,” Brannan wrote in a Facebook post.

The residential areas of Dyker Heights don’t normally have garbage cans. But during the Christmas Lights event, which attracts thousands of visitors to the Southwest Brooklyn neighborhood each night, the Department of Sanitation has agreed in previous years to requests from Community Board 10 and the Dyker Heights Civic Association to place trash receptacles at several locations throughout the neighborhood.

“This is something we ask for every year and they always give it to us,” Civic Association President Fran Vella-Marrone said.

This year, Brannan said he requested a larger number of garbage cans than usual.

Brannan expressed concern, however, that more will still have to be done to address litter problems in the neighborhood.

“Nothing ruins the holiday spirit faster than seeing garbage all over the place. I thank Sanitation for providing the extra bins but I am still concerned they won’t be enough,” Brannan told the Eagle via email.

The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Display is a dynamic, communitywide event that has been going on for many years. Scores of local homeowners become holiday season stars by erecting larger-than-life Santas, dancing reindeer, giant “Nutcracker Suite” figures, illuminated snowflakes, super-sized snow globes and other elaborate decorations on their lawns.

Once a homegrown event, the holiday lights display has grown immensely in popularity in recent years.

But the success of the event has led to traffic jams as well as an increase in noise and litter, according to Community Board 10 officials and leaders of the Dyker Heights Civic Association.

Visitors purchase candy, ice cream and hot chocolate from food vendors and then carelessly drop the wrappers and cups on the sidewalk, according to some fed-up residents.

Brannan had a special message for visitors. “So, tourists, Dyker Lights fans, inflatable Santa aficionados: if you see a garbage can overflowing, please take your garbage with you and throw it away elsewhere. Throwing garbage on somebody’s lawn is not how we say Merry Christmas in Dyker Heights,” he said.

Brannan vowed to “continue to work closely with Sanitation, NYPD and other city agencies to monitor the Dyker Lights situation.”


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4 Comments

  1. Diane Venezia

    Something also should be done with the tourists taking the X28 from Manhattan and not paying the $6.50 fare and taking up seats for us folks that ride it every day and then have to stand because they take up seats which makes the bus extra crowded. It’s not fair that we have to stand after paying our fare of $6.50 after a hard day of work!!!