An Upper West Side hoarder was using sidewalk space on Columbus Avenue between 76th and 77th Streets since October 2020 to store and sell things. Residents of the UWS, the public school next door, as well as business owners with stores in the surrounding the area have been trying to get the rat infested hoard cleaned up for months, and on March 1, the city’s sanitation department and NYPD finally showed up.
“There was no way to socially distance walking down the street. The block was a hazard and it was terrible that children coming to school had to deal with this mess,” says one local Upper West Sider who was at the March 1 cleanup. This sentiment was echoed multiple times, with pictures, in the Facebook group Upper West Side Together.
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The man responsible for the hoard is a resident of the UWS living on West 82nd street. People in the community who know him say he has struggled with mental illness and his apartment reflects what people see on the street.
At the clean up, there were multiple members of community outreach teams there to assist the man and help him collect and save items he wished to bring back to his apartment.
He eventually took what he could carry in his suitcases and left as the hoard was being cleaned up.
His valuable possessions were placed in this bin.
While members of the community are sensitive to his condition, it seemed unfair to many that the rest of the community had to live with the conditions he was imposing on the streets.
“311 got it cleaned up in November, but he came back. And so it’s just sort of been accumulating. It is a delicate situation, so things took a little bit more time to treat everyone with respect, and making sure all the right channels were followed,” said Nicole Paytner the Executive Director of the Columbus Avenue Bid. “We were communicating with the department of sanitation and with the NYPD, as well as with the school principals. Gale Brewer’s office was very helpful pulling all the agencies together and really pushing them to make something happen. It’s just been a long time of just talking back and forth, and it was canceled a couple times because of weather.”
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But many members of the community feel this has gone on for way too long, especially when laws were being broken.
Maria Danzilo, who is running for City Council District 6, said that “This should not have been allowed to grow for so many weeks. It is not fair to our community, to the school, and to the small businesses in the area who are trying to get back on their feet after the devastation of COVID. When our leaders do nothing it just hastens the exodus out of New York City. No one wants to live in a neighborhood where the streets are covered with garbage. As we rebuild we need to make sure our neighborhood has every opportunity to succeed and thrive and our streets are clean and safe for everyone.”
Danzilo said that her campaign urged members of the community to reach out to 311 and put pressure on officials to get the mess cleaned up, and that this 5-month ordeal is unacceptable. “We need to reform how city agencies interact and modernize complaint processes to be able to handle complex issues such as these that require cross-agency intervention. Our elected officials have allowed government to become bloated and wasteful, and choose not to do anything about it,” the candidate said.
Some Upper West Siders have been taking matters into their own hands when it comes to keeping the neighborhood tidy. The community driven One Block UWS can be seen out on the streets helping clean up where the city is falling short. Co-founders Ann Cutbill Lenane and Jake Russell have a team of more than 500 Upper West Siders who volunteer to bag up trash that is out and unaccounted for. While this particular hoard was out of their coverage area, the group serves as a reminder of how local residents are stepping up to help better the community. They are actively recruiting volunteers and donations to keep the initiative going.
With the hoard now removed, The Columbus Avenue Bid looks forward to planting flowers and beautifying the area … as soon as the rat infestation is taken care of.
Can we stop walking on egg shells around those with mental illness and enforce basic standards of public safety, hygiene, and conduct? It’s frustrating that it took 5 months of collaborated effort across multiple channels to get this resolved, at the expense of our tax dollars, which could be better spent on services to promote mental health.
Absolutely agree. Does any official ever want to make some laws that really help the mentally ill instead of allowing this to go on? Look at the 2 ladies living against the 72nd Street Subway station. There are probably rats in their garbage living with them. What kind of life is that and it’s been months. I just can’t believe this goes on. Maria for City Council…help!
I also know this man as a very talented designer, as well as a healer who has helped people for free. I’m sure the last year has added to his stressful situation. If you don’t have work, marry a wealthy man or woman, or have a trust fund, not having work can be devastating in this city, especially living alone right now.
With the 77th St Flea Market being closed for a year now, it adds to the problem of not having an outlet to sell vintage and antiques. I wish I were in a situation to help him, but I can’t. Maybe some of you with thicker wallets can help out. Granted, the pile was a mess, but please open your hearts now to realize that many of your neighbors are really struggling, and instead of hissing, try purring and have a bit more compassion.
I agree. It’s a disgrace. Gale Brewer did very little. Only when Maria Danzilo and West Side Together created this 311 campaign and media blitz did anything happen. Thank you Maria
High density livings present different potential outcomes vs. a trailer out in the woods. Hoarders are not just a threat to themselves, but in a shared living building the added implications of pests (bedbugs, roaches, rodents) and the added risk of fire due to accumulation of items means that these situations cannot be permitted to languish for weeks/months/years.
Why should others in the building risk losing their irreplaceable possessions due to an unaddressed risky tenant be it a hoarder (or any other risky behavior).
I’m glad there’s sensitivity around mental health but public safety should be paramount.
I’ve had members of my family suffer from hoarding, I’m not insensitive to it, however city living presents increased risks for innocent people to be harmed for addressing it too slowly.
Treasures. Gone forever…
One man’s treasure is another man’s trash – or in this case, an entire neighborhood’s eyesore.
How can we get someone to address a similar situation that’s been going on at Columbus and 74th for the past 6 months. You guys with trailers of his belongings living by the closed hsbc bank. Sometimes he sits across the street to charge his phone outside of the lennys. We’ve pent money installing outdoor charging stations but no solution for homeless people living with all their belongings in the streets.