Assembly Member Benedetto, NYC Department of Sanitation, and Pelham Bay Community Leaders announce $250,000 for Anti-Dumping Cameras to Keep Neighborhood Clean

 

New York State Assembly Member Michael R. Benedetto (D-Bronx) announced today that he was able to secure a $250,000 grant for the NYC Department of Sanitation so they can secure photo-surveillance equipment to monitor chronic dumping locations within his district. The monies came at the request of Pelham Bay community leaders as their neighborhood sits abutting two major roadways, Interstate 95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, and this location lends itself to easy dumping and exiting the community.

 

The $250,000 will purchase approximately twenty-five cameras at $10,000 a piece.  They will be placed throughout the Pelham Bay area and 82^nd District at frequent dumping locations.   The investment represents the latest effort in the Assembly Member’s drive to bolster the quality of life in his district. In the past few months, he has also secured NYPD Argus Cameras for Co-op City and Throggs Neck.

 

According to the online news publication The City, complaints about improper disposal, which includes illegal dumping, has steadily climbed in recent years with 3,770 complaints in 2020, compared to 2,814 in 2019.

 

“Pelham Bay is a proud community and this type of dumping isn’t only unsanitary, it diminishes the neighborhood itself,” explained Assembly Member Benedetto.  “The fact people can pull their cars off to the side, dump things, and then quickly escape onto the Hutch or I-95 requires new thinking.  These cameras will send a powerful message to those seeking to diminish Pelham Bay- if you continue dumping, you will pay the price.”

 

“People who illegally dump ugly trash piles in our neighborhoods just to save a few bucks have gotten away with it for too long. More and more community leaders are joining the Adams Administration and the Department of Sanitation in saying – enough! Assemblymember Benedetto is doing right by the Bronx in funding these cameras, and I want to thank him for giving us the tools we’ll need to enforce the law,” said Jessica Tisch, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation.

 

“We need to stop illegal dumping in Pelham Bay and we need these cameras.  We appreciate the Assembly Member funding this effort to improve our quality of life,” said Michele Torrioni, President of the Pelham Bay Taxpayers and Community Association.