ELTINGVILLE — A three-pronged plan to clean up Staten Island would include having residents adopt train stations and use apps to report filth.
To tackle the growing litter problem in the borough, Councilmen James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio and City Council candidate Steven Matteo announced the proposal Wednesday.
The trio suggested three plans to address the issues — the Adopt-A-Train station program, the apps and retaining a company to clean up problem areas.
"Litter is a black eye to our neighborhoods that diminishes our quality of life," Matteo said. "We have to work together to fight this ugliness."
Oddo, who's running for Borough President, and Ignizio, who's running for re-election, announced a $20,000 allocation to retain a private company to be on call to clean up the litter.
When officials receive complaints about litter, they would be able to send crews from the company to clean it up.
"Our litter problem continues to grow and it is incumbent on government to be a part of the solution," Ignizio said. "Our innovative proposals will help keep our communities cleaner."
A request for proposals from interested cleaning companies will be released soon, they said.
They also reached out to the MTA to implement the Adopt-A-Train station program, which would let a private company keep station's clean in exchange for advertising.
The three will also explore different technology, including phone apps, to let residents report problem areas. Similar apps are already used in Boston.
Oddo said they were still working on bigger issues in the borough, like transportation, but they also wanted to focus on quality-of-life things like litter.
"This litter we see on a daily basis is there because Staten Islanders make the choice to throw their garbage on the street. And as we know, litter begets more litter," he said.
"We have to figure out a better way of keeping Staten Island clean."
