Trenton’s trash problems are not just the big dump sites
On the same day Trenton officials announced arrests and fines for four men allegedly responsible for dumping hundreds of tires, something worse occurred.
Another dumping, this one on Farragut Ave. gained no attention, especially from neighbors in the East Ward community.
Plus, a massive amount of discarded trash piled on Hamilton Ave. alongside a street pavement project.
Hundreds of tires were discovered in abandoned warehouses near Tucker St. and near the Assunpink Creek.
Police allegedly came across Gilberto Gonzalez, 54, Richard Vladimir, 45, and Wilmar A. Pena Instante, 25, all of Bronx New York, as they unloaded a U-Haul packed with tires. They were issued $2,000 in tickets for violating city ordinance on illegal dumping and littering, said William Skaggs, a spokesman for the mayor’s office.
Victor Abreu, 51, of New Rochelle, New York, who owns the site, received one ticket for the ordinance violations and one other from the Department of
Environmental Protection. Abreu could receive a $35,000 fine although he maintains tires stored were available for sale.
This tire discard occurred in an isolated part of the city and while alleged culprits deserve fines and community service time, this tire dump hardly compares to the other aforementioned trash sites.
Of course, tires stacked 15 feet high in one room or tossed atop each other in another roofless building, combined with a dumpster packed with trash and mountains of other debris nearby, posed a potentially serious fire hazard.
The Hamilton Ave. problem occurred near Hudson and Pearl streets, home to hookers, hustlers, drug addicts and alcohol drinkers. Trash stayed there for several days and only added to the weighted, pressurized circumstances faced by many residents.
Seeing blight daily produces significantly different attitudes and emotions than finding tires tucked away in a building.
The Farragut Ave. embarrassment happened near Oakwood Alley in the East Ward, notorious for illegal dumping. A June 2019 column noted: Attention dumpers.
Want a place to drop off tires, mattresses, construction materials, hey, even a dead dog, then Oakwood Alley is the place for such nefarious actions.
Hold up. Before everyone gets overwhelmed with excitement, let me tell you the exact location. Oakwood Alley runs parallel to Farragut and Cleveland avenues. Dumpers can enter onto one of the trashiest streets in Trenton via Gladstone and Garfield avenues.
No cameras exist and many neighbors could not care less about a truck pulling up at any time of the day to discard items such as garbage bags filled with who knows what, television sets, Jimmy Hoffa, etc.
For the record, no Hoffa, however, a woman friend assisted with the discarded canine discovery back in Nov. 2018.
Living in Trenton allows opportunities for witnessing daily issues with weeds, garbage and deterioration of neighborhoods.
Amazed by the apathy and fear connected to illegal dumpers. No need to challenge these lawbreakers but a call to the Trenton Police Department can help with their arrest.
Disappointing that city inspectors allow store owners and business people extreme leeway with weeds and trash. The daily rides through Trenton identify a city under siege by blight.
Urban decay aka urban blight or urban rot tethers a sociological process by which a previously functioning city or part of a city, crumbles both psychologically and structurally.
Blight residue includes abandoned buildings and infrastructure, high local unemployment, increased poverty, fragmented families, crime, elevated levels of pollution, and increased violence.
Trenton needs a makeover and a shift toward cleanliness.
Finally, ran into public works Director Wahab “Wally” Onitiri during a walk through of the building loaded with tires. Showed Onitiri photos of Farragut St. and hours later city workers cleared all debris.
The expeditious response created a glimmer of hope for a capital city living on the edge.
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian.com.