Watch a short documentary on the problem at 2000 S Watts St. (WARNING: graphic content)
The issue isn't dumpsters; it's big businesses thinking they are above the law
STOP ILLEGAL DUMPSTERS AND NEGLECTED PROPERTIES
When a residential neighborhood is allowed to look like a landfill people treat it that way by dumping more garbage in and around the open dumpsters and vacant buildings. Homeless from Broad St use them as a toilet to urinate and defecate, and drug addicts use them to shoot up, leave their needles, and exchange sex for drugs. Children live and play here!
Sept 4: Rainbow's manager melts down because neighbors asked her to clean up trash around her illegal dumpster
Success! Rite Aid has stopped leaving open trash and crates outside our front doors while Snipes and Rainbow have eliminated illegal dumpsters altogether.
Gallery
You have to see it to believe that this is E. Passyunk
Trash Takes Precedent Over Wheelchairs
Even if it's enclosed, dumpsters cannot block a public right of way
Behind Popeye's
This dumpster blocks a right of way, is visible to residents, and constantly overflows. The Philly 311 app says this is “currently being investigated.”
Behind the abandoned McDonald's, now owned by USA Vein Clinics
Illegal dumping, drug use, and human urination and defecation are common occurrences behind this neglected building
Trash and human waste behind the USA Vein Clinics-owned building
Residents had to remove this trash behind the vacant McDonalds
Constant trash and trouble behind this neglected building
Gallery
(WARNING: graphic content)
You have to see it to believe that this is E. Passyunk
Rite Aid Trash Invites Trash
Illegal enclosures and 24/7 trash on our sidewalk is an inviting setting for drug use
Snipes and Rainbow Dumpsters
Snipes actually removed those dumpsters, ironically, because they were illegal. The Rainbow Dumpster persists
The Back of Popeyes, H&R Block, and Boost Mobile
This trash doesn't look like it's in an opaque enclosure
I wonder if these needles behind H&R Block are tax deductible?
This trash also doesn't look like it's in an opaque enclosure
Rainbow's Dumpster Welcomes You to 2000 S Watts
What better way to welcome addicts and vagrants onto our block
Rite Aid's Filth Next to Children's Chalk
Sad that the kids on our block have to play amongst this garbage
Makeshift Port-a-Potty
courtesy of Snipes and Rainbow
We're Better Than This, Philly!
This is no way any Philadelphian should "enjoy" their block; a family plays with Snipes and Rite Aid's dumpster as a backdrop
You Won't Believe What is About to Happen Next...
Notice, children are currently present
Sex, Trash, and Videotape
Rite Aid's dumpster and illegal enclosure (over 6 feet high, blocking a sidewalk) makes a great broad daylight love shack
And Then They Shoot Heroin
Rite Aid must have expanded its pharmaceutical selection
All Philly P.D. Can Do is Tell Them to Move Along
I talked to the police officers, who actually said the dumpsters are what attract this element from Broad and Snyder down our block! These two returned 15 minutes later
Dumpsters Take Precedent Over Wheelchairs
According to the law, in a residential area, dumpsters aren't allowed to block sidewalks
Waiting Next to Overflowing Dumpster for a Car to Pass
The sidewalks do not belong to the residents of 2000 S Watts
There was Relief... for a Moment
But it was "inconvenient" for Snipes to follow the law
2 weeks later, a Snipes dumpster returned directly behind their store next to a brand new Rite Aid dumpster that had arrived a few days prior. Emails to John Hernandez were ignored. I asked the Snipes store manager about the new dumpster who literally admitted she knows it is illegal, but that it's "too inconvenient" not to have a dumpster.
Because the law and neighborly decency might be inconvenient is not reason enough to ignore either
They had no plans for an enclosure because they couldn't be permitted for one because the back of their store wasn't zoned for such a structure! So, they're willfully breaking the law by getting a dumpster but can't hide it in an enclosure because it would be illegal to build one!
I emailed Snipes COO, Brigitte Cooperman, who said she is working with the city and in the interim will put locks on the dumpster. How is the law going to suddenly change and allow Snipes to build an enclosure? How will just adding locks make their illegal dumpster compliant in the short term? It's incomprehensible that a business can knowingly break the law, harm its neighbors, and its COO responds with an empty plea for patience while they try to figure it out.... especially when they had it figured out 2 weeks prior and removed the dumpsters, instantly making the block brighter and safer!
UPDATE: Snipes responded to a cease and desist letter by returning the second dumpster. After city intervention, the dumpsters were removed!
What to Do?
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