Newburgh residents are fed up with a dumping problem that’s going on in their backyard.
Newburgh resident Linda Jansen has called Newburgh home for a couple of decades. These days, she says, the city she calls home could use some cleanup.
“I feel very embarrassed. I'm feeling very upset because it's not OK when this happens,” Jansen said. “Once you start a junk pile in a neighborhood, the tendency is more people are going to add to it, so there's no happy resolution unless the city of Newburgh works together to correct this problem.”
What You Need To Know
- Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey says he wants more surveillance cameras in hot spots for dumping
- A city resident who works with other residents says they tell her they inherit garbage-laden properties
- The mayor asks residents to continue reporting illegal dumping
Jansen works for the Orange County Department of Health in the Healthy Neighborhoods program and is a weekly volunteer for Keep Newburgh Beautiful. The group picks up trash in the city regularly.
She calls the situation happening around town embarrassing.
“When I do home visits, [I] talk to the tenants about any concerns they have for the health and safety of their home. And one of the big concerns is the dumping problem,” said Jansen.
Jansen says, most of the time, she works with tenants who say they inherent garbage-laden properties. She says landlords aren’t being held accountable for their actions and she would like to see the city stiffen penalties.
“One of the things that the health department does is call Code Enforcement and violate the property owner, because that debris in the backyard is a breeding ground for rats, mice, woodchucks, roaches. Those infestation problems can cause health and safety issues with tenants in that building,” said Jansen.
Mayor Torrance Harvey says he’s fully aware of the dumping problem in the city and claims the city is responding. Harvey says the city plans to install more surveillance cameras around dumping hotspots to try and catch people in the act.
“We are looking at our technology. We are looking at our human power with law enforcement and codes department and any and everybody else, including our residents who are stakeholders, to report and be our neighborhood watch,” the mayor said.
After hearing what Harvey said, Jansen says she’s happy that something is being done about it, but believes that all neighbors need to do their part.
“Newburgh deserves better than having garbage thrown all over the place. And if all the residents can do a little bit, go out and do a little bit like pick up around the yard, it would really make a big difference,” said Jansen.