Dining at Chateau Guttermop tonight?

Below are photos of the gutters that I pass every morning on my way to the train. These gutters are NOT on 43rd Avenue; they are actually in front of two very hopping businesses.

 

Would you seek medical care in a doctor's office that looks like this out front?

 (Ya think Infection Control is high on their list of priorities? I'm guessing not.)

The two blue mop heads at the top of this photo

have been here for at least 3 weeks (that's when

I first noticed them at least). The street

sweeper rolls right over them, and it never occurs to the

business owner(s) to pick them up.

Would you dine in a restaurant that looks like this out front?

(Seriously, what do you think their kitchen looks like?)

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I started this blog with the intention of documenting only the filth of 43rd Avenue. But once I rolled up my sleeves and started picking up garbage,* I became more aware of nastiness in other parts of the neighborhood. I have been passing sights like this for years, and I guess I just subconsciously forced myself to ignore them. But now, unfortunately, I cannot help but see them.

 

*I don't really roll up my sleeves when I go out on a trash pick-up. Believe me, I do not want to risk skin contact with some of the things I find on the streets and sidewalks round these parts!

 

Maybe the stretch of 43rd between 72nd and 74th Street is more susceptible to filthy conditions because a large part of it is made up of the railroad overpass, so no one is legally (as a homeowner would be) responsible for keeping the sidewalk and gutter clean. But the photographs above were taken in front of businesses. Moreover, they are the types of businesses that you really would want to have higher standards of cleanliness: a restaurant and a medical office.

 

Perhaps the owners of these businesses think that the city is responsible for anything beyond the sidewalk. Even if that were true (and from what I understand of the DSNY regs, pasted below, it is not), wouldn't it be in the business owner's interest to keep their gutters at least relatively clean? I think the only reason that business owners ignore crap like this is because their customers ignore it. This is what bothers me so much: maybe the people who patronize these businesses have just become so inured to the presence of filth/trash/dumping/general nastiness that that they no longer register it in their conscious minds. How can I open peoples' eyes and make them see that life does not have to be this ugly, and that they deserve better? Maybe I should bring my cart down to these gutters and do a trash pick-up.....perhaps when business owners see some random person cleaning their property they will be shamed into taking care of their own gutters! (I doubt it, but I can't think of anything else.) 

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For what it's worth: I looked up the city regulations about sidewalks and gutters, and from what I understand of this paragraph below, merchants/business/stores are responsible for gutter areas 18 inches from their curb.

 

From the DSNY Rules and Regulations: Except where specifically noted, the following laws are applicable to all residents, merchants, businesses, stores, restaurants, and commercial and residential premises....The sidewalks (including areas like tree pits, grass strips, etc.) and gutter areas (18 inches from the curb into the street) along the building perimeter must be kept clean. Sweepings must be picked up and deposited in suitable containers for collection. Sanitation litter baskets may not be used for this purpose.