Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) praised Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia for their tireless efforts in altering pick-up times for trash and recycling within Boro Park to help alleviate traffic congestion in the community, a development first reported last night here on MATZAV.COM.
Currently, yeshiva buses and sanitation trucks are out simultaneously in the mornings, which has posed a major traffic dilemma within the neighborhood. The mayor announced on Sunday at a Boro Park dinner for the Bobover mosdos, that the resolution, set to begin on April 4, will feature trash and recycling pick-ups from the 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. morning shift be moved to the overnight shift, beginning at midnight and ending at 8 a.m. Mayor de Blasio also announced that trash collection will take place on Shabbos, further eliminating traffic chaos within Boro Park. The schedule shift is said to remove roughly 79 percent of the garbage trucks that service the neighborhood.
“Through hard work and perseverance we were able to deliver, as promised,” said an elated Hikind. “I commend the Mayor, Commissioner Garcia, the Sanitation Workers Union and for their hard work and dedication in resolving the traffic-sanitation issue. In Boro Park, our community knows all too well what happens when sanitation trucks and yeshiva buses are making their routes simultaneously. The much-needed scheduling shift in trash and recycling pickups will greatly diminish congestion that has continued to hamper our streets.”
Added Hikind, “Boro Park is so unique in that we have many children attending many yeshivas, a very family-oriented community. However, when you combine the slew of yeshiva buses out on the roads with the sanitation trucks out picking up trash and recycling during rush hour, you have huge traffic jams that can make it very difficult to get navigate through the neighborhood. With this resolution, everyone wins — even the children taking the bus to school. No longer will they be stuck on the bus indefinitely, waiting to be dropped off. Every member of our community wins, whether you drive or not.”
In an effort to highlight the issue, Assemblyman Hikind invited NYC Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia early last year for a tour around Boro Park to see first-hand the traffic congestion caused by both yeshiva buses and sanitation trucks being out at the same time. Since then, both sides have worked tirelessly at resolving the issue.
“I would like to thank my colleagues Senator Simcha Felder and Councilmembers David Greenfield, Brad Lander and Carlos Menchaca and Community Board 12, who have all worked to resolve this issue,” Hikind said. “Last but not least, I want to thank founder of the Bus Transit Association Beri Wolner, who advocated for yeshiva bus drivers in Boro Park throughout this entire process.”
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
