Trash cans finally arrived in Red Hook — less than a week after this newspaper reported their scarcity along the commercial strip.
The city’s Department of Sanitation (DOS) installed the cans this week, but said it was mere coincidence that their arrival came so swiftly after a report in last week’s paper.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with the article,” said DOS spokesperson Kathy Dawkins.
She said five litter baskets were removed roughly five years ago after the agency viewed a downturn in pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
“Since then, we have taken a closer look at the area,” she said, noting last year’s opening of IKEA, as well as an influx of new residents and businesses, as reasons for the cans’ return.
Dawkins said seven baskets were placed along the stretch of Van Brunt Street, from Pioneer Street to Beard Street.
The roadway could soon be more tidy than ever. The Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC), a business advocacy group, has said it is still committed to installing new trash cans along Van Brunt. The business advocacy group received a $200,000 state grant back in 2006 (and two more $200,000 allocations since), a percentage of which is to go to new trash cans and other streetscape enhancements. The interminable wait has vexed local businesses and civic groups.
“They are long overdue,” Red Hook Civic Association President John McGettrick said of the new cans. “It’s good to see them.”
