Catch basins are my current obsession: I can hardly walk by one in this neighborhood without peering in. They are mostly all filled with debris and dirt. Rain causes some of the buildup, but it is also the result of humanoids using the catch basins for garbage. Coffee cups pile up in catch basins near delis and bodegas; and I have seen dog owners toss their goody bag in them. Think of this happening three dogwalks per day, for several different doggies/owners.
It all started two months ago when I complained at a CB5 meeting about three catch basins that were covered over when Atlas Mall repaved Cooper Ave. This was during a discussion about flood mitigation, which is a critical issue in Queens. CB5 took up the matter, contacted Hemmerdinger, and he was, supposedly, furious when he learned about the problem (perhaps we should say "shocked, shocked" as in that film). Anyway, the one in front of our house is pretty much filled with dirt; this morning around 6, I stuck a stick in there and it was impossible for water to flow through. I called 311 to report.
Remedy: Every catch basin should have an "address", a number/location identifier. We should be able to find out the number of the catch basin in front of or near our house. Then, with technology being what it is today, we should be able to go on nyc.gov and just research when our catch basin was supposedly cleaned out.
You might want to look into the catch basins in your neighborhood.
Captain Justice
1 comment:
There was an episode of Dirty Jobs where Mike Rowe went out with a catch basin cleaning crew in LA. There was some foul stuff in there. The most memorable to me were dirty diapers. Did someone change their baby in the street? WAH!
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