I live in one of the largest and unfortunately, the most unsanitary Asian neighborhoods within NYC. Here at 8th avenue Brooklyn, there are numerous seafood stores competing for customers, sales, and worst of all – pollution. In my block specifically, there are 4 stores. Each and everyday they would pour out the murky water used to wash the seafood. Some of it goes to the sewers, but most of it remain on the streets. After days and even weeks, the water and the entire block begin to smell like fish corpses. Something has to be done about this..
Who doesn’t love fresh, right? As much as I love eating seafood and having the stores conveniently around the corner of my house, the stench is becoming unbearable. What’s worst is that the water is not only on the road, but it covers the entire sidewalk as well. Every time I pass by the stores I have to tiptoe across to keep my shoes clean. The problem is not the seafood store itself, but the people who are negligently disposing the seafood waste. I see the staff using a high pressured hose to push the dirty water away from the store and into the streets. Often times they would take the entire bucket of water and pour it into the streets.
What they’re doing is very similar to what this person is doing.
There is a very simple solution to this. Once the Department of Transportation covers up the potholes and crevices that are accumulating the dirty water. Every night, when the staff uses the hose to push the dirty water into the streets, it will naturally flow into the sewers. I simply don’t see why this hasn’t been done yet.
Excellent photos and discussion. What has this got to do with sustainability/resiliency?
It is truly unfortunate that things like this go on throughout the city. You are right, actions need to be taken in order to prevent something like this from happening every day. I feel that the competitive nature of the city can cause this kind of negligence, but maybe that same competitive nature could be applied to cleaning up after this.