Council Member Daniel Dromm (in gray suit) with ACE employees (Photo: Courtesy of Danny Dromm’s office)
Sept. 11, 2020 By Christian Murray
Council Member Danny Dromm has secured funding to cover the costs of additional trash pick-ups and a sidewalk/street cleaning service in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.
The funds come at a time when the city has slashed the budget, including the Dept. of Sanitation budget that has been cut by $106 million.
Dromm has secured $30,000 for additional weekend basket pickups along Broadway from 69th Street to Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst. There will also be additional Saturday pick-ups along 37th Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights.
The council member has also been able to secure $160,000 to keep the supplement cleaning service provided by the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless (ACE) going. That service has been in place for years but with budget cuts it wasn’t certain that it would continue.
ACE employees sweep streets and sidewalks, and also empty trash bins to prevent them from overflowing.
“These thousands of dollars in funding mean a cleaner Jackson Heights and Elmhurst for everyone,” Dromm said. “We are in the middle of a financial crisis. The restoration of these dollars was not easy.”
ACE employees clean along Roosevelt Avenue and 37th Avenue from 69th Street to 81st Street. They also service 73rd Street through 77th Street between Roosevelt Avenue and 37th Avenue; Broadway from 72nd Street to Elmhurst Avenue; and Diversity Plaza.
Dromm said that these services help keep the busy commercial streets free of trash, which has an adverse impact on the environment and public health.
“Overflowing trash bins are not only unsightly–they attract rats, sicken our pets and wildlife, and contribute to water contamination,” Dromm said.
“The de Blasio administration has made significant cuts to the Department of Sanitation’s budget, creating an urgent need for these dollars,” Dromm added.
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