QUEENS — City councilman and Queens borough president candidate Peter Vallone Jr. unveiled a new borough-wide “clean streets” proposal in Jackson Heights Monday.
Vallone introduced the plan on Northern Boulevard and 84th Street along with business owners from around the borough.
His “adopt-a-basket” program will allow merchants to take responsibility for maintaining Department of Sanitation trash cans near their businesses by enrolling in a program that provides plastic bags and a pickup schedule for the basket.
The program is free for businesses, and there isn't a penalty if a store doesn't participate, according to Vallone's campaign.
If elected as borough president, Vallone said he plans to install placards on the garbage bins that show the name of the business that adopted the basket to give credit to owners.
Adding the name of the business will hopefully encourage others to sign up, as well as ensure the owners continue maintenance of the bin, the campaign said.
"We hope that if a business signs up and their name is on the can, then they will be incentivized to take care of it," a spokesman for the campaign said.
