July 22, 2008: Vol. 31, No. 29
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What a dump! It must have been ‘Messy Monday’ in Prospect Park
for The Brooklyn Paper
Prospect Park is increasingly disgusting on Monday mornings after picnickers and barbecuers leave their trash behind on Sunday nights.
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del.icio.usMonday mornings have become a stinking mess at Prospect Park this summer, where overflowing piles of trash, rotting food, and more litter than you can shake a half-eaten chicken leg at have become a weekly ritual.
“This is a classic problem,” said Prospect Park spokesman Eugene Patron. “People like to have fun over the weekend and leave more trash than on any other day.”
No additional staff is added for Mondays, though Patron said the city brings on more workers for the summer than during the less-busy winter months.
He added that the park’s improved safety over the last few years has encouraged more visitors — and now these visits last later into the night.
“The park is getting safer, so people are happier to do those activities that attract more garbage, and [are] doing them later,” he said. “After a certain hour, it’s too [dark] to send our trucks out, so the later people stay, the more trash builds up.
That’s why those Monday cleanups take longer than on any other days, he added.
A Brooklyn Paper reporter certainly found that out. Visiting the park early on a Monday afternoon, he found epic amounts of detritus all along the west side of the park with trash cans overflowing and waiting for relief.
The problem extended beyond the pathways in the park onto the grassy knolls, which were heavily sprinkled with wrappers, plastic forks and knives, fast-food containers, and half-eaten watermelons and other leftovers — and in at least one case, a soiled diaper.
This growing problem is heavy on the minds of many nearby residents.
“There’s just a frustrated sentiment in the neighborhood about the garbage problem because it tempts all of our dogs to pick at the trash,” said Susan Ryan, a 48-year-old veterinarian from Carroll Gardens. “This is crap.”
Park Sloper Rebecca Meyers added: “I moved to this neighborhood to be close to the park. It’s a shame that I can’t use this area any more because of all the trash.”
©2008 The Brooklyn Paper
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