The Trentonian (Trenton, NJ)

Trenton failing to keep the pigs at bay

-

The CIA failed with its infamous April 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.

In Trenton, officials have difficulty in keeping pigs at bay as residents discard trash seemingly everywhere. Not even the St. Francis Cemetery is off limits as trash lines a portion of this sacred ground near Franklin St. Beer bottles and other items get tossed next to gravestone­s.

The accompanyi­ng photo shows garbage deposited just outside the cemetery, across from the Zona Gallo Restaurant & Lounge. Yes, it’s unlikely any person from the restaurant placed garbage near this tree nor left an empty case of Corona beer bottles along the curb but any selfrespec­ting business owner would clean up this crap.

Who lives like this? That ballyhooed street sweeper effort on July 21 achieved almost nothing except a one-day reprieve from the filthy people who call Trenton home.

While calls for more police gains more support, Trenton needs to hire more inspectors. Chambersbu­rg remains under siege by trash. Parts of the North Ward look like jungles as weeds show the invasive power of Mother Nature when left alone. And, of course, Sanford St. may require demolition of an entire block between Brunswick Ave. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

The South Ward remains a popular dumping ground and some sections of the West Ward, especially on Stuyvesant, Fountain and Sweets avenues, need an immediate plan for resolution of boarded up properties and other blight issues.

An acquaintan­ce phoned the other day. “L.A. man, I was on your street the other day and I could not believe the trash that was on that street,” he said.

His criticism received an immediate response. “Yeah, I saw the trash, too. The first block of Franklin St. looked like trash central with items that missed the garbage truck left on the street. Our block looked beautiful and clean as we celebrated National Night Out.”

Bottom line? We need a fully-staffed Inspection­s Department that writes summonses until businesses, homeowners, renters and landlords understand that these unclean behaviors will never be tolerated. Period.

Business owners who need a refresher course on how their properties should appear should visit the McDonald’s on the corner of Chambers St. and Hamilton Ave.

Owners Rosa and Fred Rosado deliver the gold standard for keeping a business clean both inside and out.

L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist.

 ?? L.A. PARKER — THE TRENTONIAN ?? No respect for dead or living near St. Francis Cemetery in Chambersbu­rg Trenton area.
L.A. PARKER — THE TRENTONIAN No respect for dead or living near St. Francis Cemetery in Chambersbu­rg Trenton area.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States