HIKIND RAISES A STINK WITH MAYOR’S OFFICE

NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND

June 2, 2013

Contact: Yehudah Meth                                                    For Immediate Release
718-853-9616 (office)

HIKIND RAISES A STINK WITH MAYOR’S OFFICE: DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY AS SANITATION DEPT. BLITZES BORO PARK & MIDWOOD

“A secret rating system is unfair. Collective punishment is unacceptable. The refusal to share information that will allow our community to address specific streets and problems is outrageous!”

Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) is insisting that the Department of Sanitation explain why they have deemed Boro Park the “dirtiest district” in Brooklyn and are now targeting store and home owners.

In a letter to Elizabeth Weinstein, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, Assemblyman Hikind explained that Community Board 12 leaders have surveyed not only Boro Park but also the other 17 community districts, where they observed numerous streets that seemed far dirtier than any of the streets in CB 12. The prevailing belief is that streets bordering Boro Park, such as 8th Avenue, may be the source of the Sanitation Department’s conclusions. However, on numerous occasions, Community Board 12 has reached out to the mayor’s office requesting the specifics of their study.

“I am dismayed that these requests have been ignored and this information unfairly withheld,” said the Assemblyman. “I believe that my community is being unfairly targeted. Even if one small section isn’t up to par, our entire community should not be penalized with a collective punishment.

“The result of your designation is a new blitz of sanitation ticketing that is occurring in my community at an alarming rate. People have complained of receiving sanitation tickets at 3 a.m. These tickets carry a minimum fine of $100 which is very burdensome to people already struggling financially. This blitz must stop.

“A secret rating system is unfair. The refusal to share information that will allow our community to address specific streets and problems is outrageous and unacceptable. We need transparency so that we can properly address these concerns together for the benefit of the city and all those who live here.”