Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Information and inspections are the keys to cleaning up Trenton
East Ward Councilman Joseph Harrison toured several Franklin St. blocks Friday and discovered issues never confronted by his predecessor.
One interaction underscored a personal perception that many city residents lack information regarding rules, regulations and ordinances.
Take for instance mattresses, which must be wrapped in plastic for garbage pickup. Harrison found two uncovered mattresses on the sidewalk in the first block of Franklin St.
“Is that your mattress?,” Harrison asked a resident.
The man informed Harrison that the sanitation workers had not collected either mattress.
“That’s because you have to cover it in plastic,” Harrison explained. The resident then voiced an explanation that corroborated my theory of knowledge. “I didn’t know,” he said. A stated perception alleges that Ignorance of the law ranks as inexcusable although in terms of many people lacking knowledge about city rules, regulations and ordinances, not knowing seems like a legitimate justification.
Harrison, ahead of the pack of all city council members, went home and brought back plastic casings for both mattresses. Problem solved, at least with this one resident, in a matter of minutes.
Trenton suffers from a lack of information problem as newcomers, many of them first-generation immigrants from South and Central America, Haiti, Liberia and other nations, having limited English language skills. The City of Trenton fails to reach these new residents as minimal movement occurs in delivering information in other languages, particularly Spanish.
What they don’t know hurts them tremendously as issues regarding garbage collection and understanding their rights as tenants facing off against unscrupulous landlords diminishes their pursuits of life, liberty and the pursuits of happiness as human beings.
Recent conversations about cleaning up Trenton includes no initiative to enlighten and inform residents about what’s expected of them. Newcomers should experience something similar to college orientation as freshmen receive information about almost every situation they could imagine.
Most employees for many companies engage a HR representative who dispenses an employee handbook. Dealing with newcomers should produce a similar experience.
Perhaps a city council member could lead this initiative for creation of classes for new arrivals, teaching them all the ins and outs of living in the City of Trenton. Despite stepped up efforts for deportation of undocumented immigrants, many will remain here as productive members of our capital city.
Organizations such as the Latin American Legal & Defense Education Fund (LALDEF) help in the orientation of newcomers, offering identification cards, providing legal support and hosting ESL classes, Trenton must develop its own initiatives to impact the welfare and wellbeing of new residents.
The big clean up in the South Ward may occur in late July but almost no conversation has occurred regarding what comes before and after five street sweepers “polish” the neighborhoods of Councilman George Muschal. City officials must forewarn all residents about this cleanup effort, then instruct them about parking rules and confront residents, landlords and businesses about daily maintenance.
Bottom line? Trenton will never recover from the weeds, garbage, alley dumping and other serious concerns until the city hires more inspectors.
Wise people know that minimal progress will be made unless government leaders bolster this city’s Inspections Department. Call it the “I-I” movement: Inspections and Information.
If people have knowledge and information about our city’s rules and regulations and still break those laws, then Inspections agents should write tickets.
Finally, a simple solution to our city’s parking issues and problems involving keeping our streets clean can be solved by parking law enforcement officers or police officers, riding behind street sweepers. Cars that impede street sweepers receive a ticket.
The future of Trenton requires efforts, initiatives and mindsets that push for cleanliness. Being clean remains a matter of pride.