To prepare for last month’s Fun in the Sun event in the Edgemere neighborhood, Jackie Rogers and other neighborhood volunteers removed 185 pounds of trash from a parklet on Beach 43rd Street. They wanted to make sure the area was cleaned for the upcoming annual event, which would welcome residents to enjoy free kayaking on the waters of a basin that leads to Jamaica Bay.
Weeks later, Rogers made a routine visit to the parklet to make sure it was being maintained., but when she and other volunteers arrived, they found the lot was filled with boxes of waste, plastic scraps, and wooden frames. From the looks of the debris, according to Rogers, it appeared to be medical waste.
In the best case scenario, this would have been a disappointing one-time occurrence. For Rogers and her neighbors, though, the sight of piles of trash in Edgemere is all too common.
Residents put in a 311 request on the morning of August 6 to have the trash removed. Nearly 24 hours later, the ticket was closed but the waste still remained.
Illegal dumping is not only an eyesore but also a public health concern, and in the case of the coastal neighborhood of Edgemere, an issue of access to the neighborhood’s waterways. Rogers and her neighbors are tired of picking up the tab with their time and energy when it comes to such quality-of-life issues in their neighborhood.
“Where are all those staunch advocates and politicians that say ‘We’re for environmental justice’?” asked Rogers. “This wouldn’t be allowed in a different ZIP code.”
“Why is it that we always have to ask for basic maintenance?” echoed Elizabeth Opurum, one of the residents with Rogers who encountered the recent trash accumulation. “We’re not asking for anything that is far outside of what these agencies are supposed to do.”
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It’s illegal to dump trash or debris on both public and private property in New York City. Drivers of vehicles used for dumping can be fined up to $18,000 and last year, the Department of Sanitation cracked down on dumpers with surveillance cameras. If residents see dumping in the process, they’re urged to call 911. Otherwise, New Yorkers should report dumping to 311. But residents are frustrated with that refrain, particularly when maintenance requests are closed before being resolved.
The filth also runs the risk of polluting soil, as well as impacting air quality. The refuse can also attract vermin such as rats, cockroaches, and mosquitoes that bring vector-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus, and pests can trigger health issues such as asthma.
Illegal dumping is an equity issue and has been a persistent problem, plaguing Black and Brown and low-income neighborhoods in places such as Southeast Queens, East New York, and the Bronx for decades. The Rockaways, and particularly the neighborhood of Edgemere, are no strangers to mounds of waste, especially in the neighborhood’s vacant lots. According to 2020 data from the city’s environment and health portal, the Rockaways rank worse than the borough and citywide rates when it comes to asthma emergency department visits.
According to Sonia Moise, president of the Edgemere Community Civic Association, who has lived in the predominantly Black and Brown neighborhood for nearly 50 years, the recent incident is not specific to the Beach 43rd parklet. She’s seen discarded refrigerators and furniture in other vacant lots, and the tall, overgrown grass in some of the lots makes it difficult to know what’s lurking on a property. The persistent dumping (and other quality-of-life issues), she said, “I think stems from a long history of neglect with this small community.”
Steffon Ramkissoon and his family moved to Edgemere four years ago. Behind his home sits four vacant lots, three of which are owned by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Across the street from his house, nearly half of the block is lined with vacant lots owned by private companies or the city. Neighbors say some of the lots have so much overgrown weeds that sidewalks are impassable. Although there’s a number to call about the city-owned land, Ramkissoon said he gets the runaround.
“Nobody knows anything about these lots,” he said.
An abandoned boat currently sits in one of the lots. Residents say small snakes have also made a home in the lots and make their way to the street. Ramkissoon remembers when someone dumped the carcass of a small animal in a bag, which stunk up half of his block.
The overgrown vegetation has attracted mosquitoes and now poses a threat to the couple’s six-month-old daughter, who has mosquito bite marks on her cheek, forehead, arm, and leg.
“We decided to stay away from outside,” said Navita Ramkissoon about avoiding her backyard. The couple said they still get swarmed, however, when watering the lawn or getting into their vehicle.
The city’s department of health has urged New Yorkers to be vigilant about standing water, but the Ramkissoons say they don’t have any in their yard. The baby’s mosquito bites occurred during the city’s peak season for West Nile virus. Health officials announced last week that human cases of the disease have been detected. According to the health department, virus-positive mosquitoes have been detected in Edgemere and Far Rockaway within the past two weeks.
HPD did not answer if there is a plan to schedule regular maintenance of the lots but said “Based on resource availability, HPD responds to requests from the community to address lot clean up and weed removal.”
While the coastal neighborhood is bounded by the ocean and the bay, which would be considered an important amenity, Rogers said the community doesn’t have equitable access to its waterfronts due to the piles of rubbish. “We’re rich in land use; however, we don’t have anything for the community for recreation.” She highlighted days like last month’s kayaking event on Jamaica Bay as significant.
Jamaica Bay contains about one-third of New York City’s more than 500-mile coastline. The bay is nearly the size of Manhattan and hosts wildlife such as bald eagles, ospreys, whales, and dolphins.
“The bay is healthier now than it has been in 100 years,” said Terri Carta, executive director of the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Park Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental stewardship. She said Jamaica Bay has a long history of dumping. Because the lot is hidden on a dead-end street makes it an easy target for dumpers. She also believes that a lack of enforcement makes it easy for dumping to keep happening. “If someone was afraid that they would get caught, they would not have done it,” she said. Recent incidents like this, she says, unfortunately means that though the bay is relatively healthy, there’s still work to be done.
Opurum and her neighbors want to cultivate healthy spaces and events that are not only good for recreation, but that also have mental health benefits. Getting outdoors can encourage physical activity, as well as improve sleep, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
About a week and a half after the 311 complaint was filed, residents said the trash at the Beach 43rd Street parklet was removed, but they’re frustrated with the initial slow response. “It seems that the more I want to put my effort and energy into improving the neighborhood that I live in, it just seems like some of it’s a waste,” said Opurum.
Although the recent incident was a setback, Rogers said the community is moving forward with events that will get residents outdoors. That includes more kayaking days and fishing clinics. Rogers, Opurum, and other volunteers also manage the nearby community garden, the Garden by the Bay, and Rogers is comforted to know that the bay has been the cleanest it’s been in years. But she said it’s disconcerting that the burden of asking for basic services falls on her and her neighbors, which can eventually lead to apathy and thwart efforts for residents to become environmental stewards of Edgemere.
“We have people of color that come out and maintain open public space, and yet and still, we don’t get the support that we need,” she said. “Where’s the right to make our lives safe? Where’s our quality of life?”
This story was made possible by a grant from the Journalism and Women Symposium health fellowship, supported by the Commonwealth Fund.