City REALLY DROPPING the ball for Toter Violations!

Well, I just received a letter from the Southwest NSC (Carl Williamson) that on January 23, 2013, my toter was observed between the sidewalk and the curb 48 hours AFTER my scheduled pickup. The letter is dated January 23, 2013. Sorry, but I had to stop laughing before posting this. BUT my pickup day is THURSDAY! So it would be to the curb on Wednesday January 23 until possible Friday January 25, 2013 at noon. BUT MLK day was Monday January 21, so my pickup day would have been delayed one day until January 25, 2013. It was picked up this morning......Now the real ironic thing about this is that due a handicapping condition, my garbage is picked up from my yard by a City of Rochester Refuse Collector which was started in December 2012!!!! So my green rolling refuse container is NEVER curbside!! Now the last sentence says to call him at 428-7630 9a-5p Monday thru Friday. I just called at 1:30p TODAY, AND EVERYBODY IS EITHER OUT OT LUNCH OR GONE!! FIGURES!!

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Permalink Reply by Inge Mallory on January 29, 2013 at 6:25am

Yeah Judi ! B TW My next door neighbors toter is still sitting at the curb and it is now Tuesday morning.

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on January 29, 2013 at 9:24am

Take a pic and send to City Hall asking WHY????????????? 'IS THIS WHAT YOU LOOK AT WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE IN THE MORNING TO GO TO WORK AT CITY HALL?????' I sent the question and pics to the Mayor. Questions coming from both sides of Genesee St. MIGHT get some response!

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Permalink Reply by Inge Mallory on January 31, 2013 at 6:28am

The toter was finally gone when I got home from work last night ..........Wednesday. As you write Trash day is Friday and the whole cycle begins again.

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on January 30, 2013 at 7:10pm

Glad to report the mess at 32/34 Elba has been cleanup up and there are NO toters curbside! The hell begins again tomorrow (Thursday) the regularly scheduled pickup day! Camera charged and READY!

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Permalink Reply by Inge Mallory on January 31, 2013 at 6:25am

And the wind will add to the trash that flies around. Good luck Judi

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Permalink Reply by Meredith Schreiber on February 1, 2013 at 4:04pm

I hear ya, Judi! The duplex next door to us has FOUR toters for the two people that live there. They somehow still manage to fill them up and leave them in front of their house sometimes for a whole week after pickup. As if that isn't annoying enough, the city sends US the violation in the mail because they seem to think the totes are in front of our house when they are clearly next door. We'll be taking photos of our neighbors mess and mailing them back with the letter.

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on February 1, 2013 at 4:31pm

ohhhhhhhh you got a 'love letter' from the City too!? Just plain rediculous! Send your weekly pics to David Hawkes, Gary Kirkmeir, Lynette. oh yeah, and feel free to post ur pics on The SW Wall of Shame! I have been complaining since last summer about toter violations AND landlords are JUST being given warning letters even though I was assured by the NSC office in Oct 2012 they were 'ON IT'............Soo here we are in Feb 2013. Who does that??

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Permalink Reply by Margy Meath on February 1, 2013 at 4:52pm

"On it"!!! I cannot tell you how many times i have heard THAT phrase coming from people at the NSC office.

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on February 1, 2013 at 5:05pm

Soooooooooooooo FLOOD everybody's email (any body you can think of with the cityofrochester.gov email address and let them know we are 'ON IT'!! I am just about one second from a raging deranged SW citizen!! All this darn work and I can't get a salary or benefits!!

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Permalink Reply by Joe D'Alessandro on February 1, 2013 at 6:53pm

I think that the City needs to change its approach. There are activities that genuinely work towards a solution and then there are activities that appear to do so. Currently, Carl Williamson drives around, writes down addresses and then sends letters to who ever owns the property. This clearly does not work. It does however allow him to present the case that he is being productive. "Look how many letters I sent out, I am really trying". If he was really interested in solving the problem, he would park his car, get out of the car and knock on the door. He could introduce himself and explain to the resident the toter policy in the City of Rochester. I also think it is a mistake to only send a letter to the owner of the property. Whether someone owns the home they live in or rents, I think we all want responsible neighbors that are willing to pick up after themselves. By not instituting a consequence for a tenant resident, you are sending the message that it is not their responsibility, and it is their responsibility. I think its fine to also send a letter to the owner, but to do so without sending anything to the resident is counter productive. I think that there also should be a consequence for the occupant, whether they own or rent. If a fine is given, it should be given to the resident. If you think its appropriate, maybe you can also fine the owner, but to only fine the owner does not directly address the cause of the problem. Right now the City is engaging in activity so that they can say they are doing something, unfortunately they are not engaging in activity that actually solves the problem.

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on February 2, 2013 at 3:58am

You make some very good points Joe! It's easier to send letters to the property owner since they rarely move every 30 days or so. Catching up with tenants would be almost impossible. We have one address where tenants move out every 2 weeks to 30 days, and that address is a main offender of the toter code. I sent letters to every property owner on this street (my expense) and enclosed the Being A Good Neighbor brochure and asked them to review the brochure with their tenants and told them where they could get more copies from the NSC office. The owner/occupied homes over here are the gems that stand out. We all respect each other as well as the property of others. Once the weather breaks, ride by and take a look at my property nearest the fire hydrant and tell me how you would go about solving that problem. I have spoken to the landlord, a number of his tenants, and the landlord's response to me was...........'well that happens!' The calls for service over here for loud music, wee hours of the morning parties, fights are not generated by the owner occupants. I would surmise that better screening of and monitoring of tenants by landlords might eliminate some of the problems. We have only ONE property owner/landlord on this street who regularly monitors his 3 pieces of property and who checks regularly to make sure his tenants do not negatively impact the quality of life over here! In my many former years of community activities I have found that the City usually is at the table but that the residents are encouraged to come up with solutions!

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on February 2, 2013 at 8:14am

But at the end of the day, landlords are in the business to make money. And with the business comes responsibilities to the neighborhoods you choose to do business in. If your property is in a neighborhood where anything goes and nobody cares, than its easy to fly under the radar, but in a neighborhood that cares, then the responsibility is a little higher and violations are likely to draw heat.