UPPER EAST SIDE — The city is ramping up efforts to keep East 86th Street clean.
Trash pickup along one of the city's busiest commercial corridors has increased from once to twice a day, according to Department of Sanitation officials.
The move comes after Councilman Ben Kallos got a flood of complaints from residents about the pileup of garbage and reached out to the agency for help, he said.
"Every day, I hear from residents complaining about trash on 86th Street, calling, emailing and even Tweeting pictures," Kallos said. "The internet says 'Don't feed the trolls,' but you never know. This is an example of residents having an impact."
East 86th Street is not only home to one of the top 10 most-heavily trafficked subway stations in the city, but also several big box stores like H&M, Shake Shack and AMC Loews theater.
Conditions worsened over the past few years after the DOE Fund, which regularly cleared the sidewalks, left the area to help with Hurricane Sandy cleanup, according to Kallos.
Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia agreed to add the second pickup after Kallos requested it during March's preliminary budget hearing, where he presented pictures from residents showing the extent of the garbage.
The second pickup will be made possible by adjusting the routes that department trucks take every day, Garcia said.
Residents and business owners along the corridor have even taken it upon themselves to clean up the area.
East 84th Street resident Andrew Fine has led businesses like Papaya King, The Brompton, a luxury condo, Janovic Paint and others to participate in the sanitation department's Adopt-A-Basket program.
And Kallos and residents are in the process of forming a neighborhood Business Improvement District to raise money from commercial and residential properties that would fund regular cleanup along the corridor.
Sanitation's second daily pickup will supplement all of that work, Garcia said on Wednesday.
"For years, the overflowing trash cans and litter along East 86th Street have negatively affected the quality of life for residents of the Upper East Side," Assemblyman Dan Quart said in a statement. "The increased trash pickup is an encouraging step that reflects the ability of our city to meet the needs of our community."
