Raising a stink in E. Village

Eateries’ trash woes

East Village residents have a beef with two area Chinese restaurants that they allege are dumping their trash, including raw meat and bones, on St. Marks Place.

“The rats, local birds and sea gulls love the feast. Their trash usually sits for days. The stench is overpowering,” fumed Ian Fair, 65, who lives across the street.

Szechuan Mountain House, at 23 St. Marks Place, gets raves for its Kung Pao chicken, and CheLi, at 19 St. Marks Place, is known for its Longjing shrimp and smoked fish — but the second-floor eateries are getting zero stars for their disposal of trash.

“This routine has been going on for well over a year,” Fair said, adding the sidewalk where the garbage sits is almost never power-washed or scrubbed.

“It’s all wet slop, remains, entrails, whatever they are serving. It’s really disgusting. Now the summer is here, and it smells worse as the heat kicks up,” he said.

The mess smells so bad that it impacts the air quality, another local said.

“I cannot breathe. It’s too heavy, dirty smell,” said Helen Kim, the manager of a nearby tattoo and piercing shop.

“They always try to sneak and throw the garbage in front of my stores.”

Li Xu, manager of Szechuan Mountain House, said his eatery pays a private carter, Metropolitan Recycling, to pick up the garbage “every day, seven days a week.”

But, he said, sometimes they don’t come or pick up only part of the garbage. Li also said he has sent workers to clean up the trash when the garbage bags split open.

Jen Li, 24, who works at a crepe shop below the restaurants, said the garbage piles up “once or twice a week” and drives away business.

A restaurant worker down the block blamed garbage collectors who “don’t want to pick up.”

“It makes it very dirty and stinky and disgusting.” said Min Yu, 33.

Since April, the city Sanitation Department has received three 311 complaints for dirty conditions at 23 St. Marks Place, and one for illegal dumping at 19 St. Marks Place, officials said.

In that period, the agency issued five violations to 23 St. Marks and three to 19 St. Marks, said department spokesman Vincent Gragnani.

Businesses are required to hire private sanitation to collect their trash and recyclables and can be fined $50 to $100 for improper disposal.

Metropolitan Recycling did not return messages.