BED-STUY, NY \u2014 The newest effort to keep NYC streets rat-free and clean kicked off in a Brooklyn neighborhoods laden with furry neighbors \u2014 Bed-Stuy. <\/p>\n
A new task force, the Clean City Alliance, started its sidewalk cleaning efforts on Nostrand Avenue in Bed-Stuy and Utica Avenue in Crown Heights on June 26, authorities announced Thursday. <\/p>\n
The alliance, organized by the city and Sanitation Foundation, will hit major roads across NYC to improve pedestrian and residents’ experience, according to Caryl Englander, chair of the Sanitation Foundation. <\/p>\n “Starting in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant with a plan to serve commercial corridors in all five boroughs, the Clean City Alliance will provide sidewalk cleaning services to some of our busiest areas,” Englander said. <\/p>\n Though not explicitly targeted at rat mitigation, Central Brooklyn has been hit extremely hard this year by trash-loving rats. <\/p>\n Bed-Stuy’s Community Board 3 topped 230 rodent-related 311 complaints from June 1 to Wednesday, a slight increase over the same period last year.<\/p>\n “Every part of our city deserves to be clean,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “That means every street and every neighborhood.”<\/p>\n In Neighboring Crown Heights, Community Board 8 has seen 118 311 complaints related to rodents since the beginning of June, a slight decrease from 2022, city data show. Community Board 9 saw over 30, a major decrease from the year before.<\/p>\n Parts of Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy were identified by the city as key targets for rat mitigation, and hundreds of locals say even more of Central Brooklyn should be top priority for the city.<\/p>\n The task force will particularly focus on areas that do not have local business improvement districts \u2014 but Central Brooklyn is certainly not lacking community organization to fight trashy streets.<\/p>\n Organizers with Clean Up Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy Clean Ups host weekly local trash pick-up events with volunteers, with a joint effort scheduled for July 15 on Fulton Street and Lewis Avenue. SCRAM has made significant local headway in rat-fighting efforts. <\/p>\nFind out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.<\/h2>\n
Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.<\/h2>\n