The Bayonne City Council has rejected an ordinance that would have reduced the number of street sweeping days on the east side of Avenue C from 1st Street to 7th Street.
The ordinance would have reduced the number of days of street sweeping from three to two. During the public hearing on the ordinance at the December council meeting, Department of Public Works Director Tom Cotter spoke against the proposed change.
DPW Director speaks out
“I know it’s hard for people to move their car three days a week for street cleaning,” Cotter said. “You get tickets and everything else. But we do it to keep the streets clean. That’s the only defense we have at times. A lot of people don’t clean up in front of their houses anymore. The only way we get to do it is through the street sweeper.”
The east side of the street gets particularly dirty, Cotter said.
“The wind blows from the west and everything from one side of the street blows to the other,” he said. “That’s why we do the east of Avenue C, Broadway, and Kennedy Boulevard a few more days a week than we do some other streets.”
According to Cotter, changing the number of days would have a direct impact on that part of the city.
“We would have to put new signs up,” he said. “It would also change the time of the route. I think it would cause more confusion than it would benefit the community.”
Cotter said that people are used to moving their cars at a certain time to avoid tickets and will likely be confused by the changes.
“People who are further uptown are used to the sweeper coming by at say 9:50,” he said. “Now we’re showing up at 9:30 and they’re getting tickets and wondering why the sweeper is coming early.”
‘Hard to reverse’
According to Cotter, it would be a hard thing to reverse, too.
“Once you take something away, it’s a process to go back,” he said. “We’d have to re-sign that area of town if we decide to go back.”
Cotter asked the council to vote down the ordinance to keep the number of street sweeping days at three: “I think it causes more harm than benefit.”
Gail Godesky, a former city employee and outspoken resident who has been frequently vocal about garbage issues in the city, agreed with Cotter. Godesky stated that the city should be cleaning the streets more and not less.
“The streets in Bayonne are getting worse and worse,” Godesky said. “People are throwing garbage out of their cars at night and leaving them next to the cars. And the garbage men aren’t picking everything up either.”
Ashe-Nadrowski, a recently announced mayoral candidate who has said cleaning the streets is a priority, agreed: “One of our biggest complaints is about the dirty streets.” She echoed calls to keep street sweeping at three days.
Meanwhile, dirty streets have been a campaign issue for months prior to Ashe-Nadrowski’s announcement, with a D.C.-based Super PAC launching an attack ad campaign against Mayor James Davis, labeling him “Dirty Davis.” However, a spokesperson for Davis, Phil Swibinski, has called the effort an “out-of-towner led plot” to oust the incumbent mayor.
Ordinance voted down
The council voted to reject the ordinance at its December meeting, with Second Ward City Councilman Sal Gullace being absent.
The Bayonne City Council will meet next at 7 p.m. on Jan. 19 in the council chambers at City Hall at 630 Avenue C. For more information, go to the city’s website at bayonnenj.org and click the event on the calendar webpage.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
