Morris Park resident raises awareness of how one's trash is everybody's problem

Anyone who walks down Yates Avenue might see 15 bags of trash lined up along the fence outside of Eliezer Rodriguez's house. It's his way of drawing attention to a problem plaguing the neighborhood: Litter.

News 12 Staff

Jan 15, 2022, 3:38 AM

Updated 1,052 days ago

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A Morris Park resident is raising awareness about how littering affects more than just the person who tosses the trash.
Anyone who walks down Yates Avenue might see 15 bags of trash lined up along the fence outside of Eliezer Rodriguez's house. It's his way of drawing attention to a problem plaguing the neighborhood: Litter.
"There's trash cans! Use those receptacles. Don't litter on someone else's property," Rodriguez pleads.
For months, Rodriguez has been finding bags of trash in his front yard and tied to the fire hydrant outside his house. But when he tried to report the illegal dumping to the Department of Sanitation, Rodriguez says nothing happened and he was even told that he could be the one getting fined for the litter.
"I want people to know that even though you didn't put something on your property, you're still responsible for it," Rodriguez says.
News 12 contacted DSNY, who confirmed that property owners are required to maintain a clean perimeter, including sidewalks and 18 inches into the street.
"There's about 15 bags or so, which means I could've gotten 15 violations. That's not fair to me," Rodriguez says.
Rodriguez tells News 12 that he looked through the bags of trash and noticed several pieces of mail with the same address.
A News 12 crew went by the location, but no one was home.
"People need to be aware that when they dump on someone else's property, you're creating a problem not just for yourself, but for the people whose property you're littering on," Rodriguez says.
The Department of Sanitation of suggested that Rodriguez file a police report. Rodriguez says he didn't want to involve law enforcement, but he will if he has to.