Middletown Action Team: Citizens Must Report Illegal Dumping, Other Blight

It began with a photograph I took of a pile of mattresses and sofas in a parking lot off Main and Ferry streets juxtaposed against a rusty sign that said, “No Dumping of Garbage or Refuse. Violators Will be Prosecuted per Order Dept of Health.” 

That was followed by my innocuous Facebook posting on Wednesday morning.

I’d walked past this area of Middletown 100 times in the last 45 days and had gotten used to the ever-morphing mound of discarded bedding and furniture I assumed belonged to the furniture store upon whose back door it sat.

Within an hour, I had 20 responses from people whose comments fell into two categories: “What do you expect in the North End?” and “Nothing will change unless you report it.”

But the words of North End Action Team Community Organizer Bobbye Knoll Peterson spurred me on.

“When we resort to the ‘that's just the North End’ or ‘sigh, Middletown,’ attitude. We have lost the battle,” Peterson said. “We can expend energy in a negative way and have no impact on the problem or we can expend energy and work to be part of the solution. I choose to be part of the solution."

The city has a blight ordinance, which says all building owners, occupants and operators must keep the exterior free of garbage, refuse, rubbish, infestations, and filth. Any violations are punished by a fine of $100 compounded daily.

I called Middletown Public Works, was referred to the health department then the city health inspector but got little help or information on how to deal with the problem other than, "thank you for your call, we'll look into it."

When I called Schlien’s Furniture, the manager was out, but the fellow I spoke with was very forthcoming about this being an ongoing issue. By his account, mattresses and other items routinely show up outside their back door, dumped by residents of nearby apartments, and others assume it belongs to Schlein's and moves it there.

Workers had been taking these items to the dump, the man said, adding items to those already on route as part of its business, but the "supply" became overwhelming. "Plus," he said, "those are infested with bedbugs so there's no way we're going to put those in our truck."

Back to the health department. Chief Sanitarian Sal Nesci's response was swift and decisive, and explained an integrated approach to city government.

He encourages any citizen to make a complaint to the health department and if it's not their purview, staff will "share that concern with the applicable department through the use of our code enforcement task force, which deals with a multi-agency approach to problematic areas or issues in the city.” 

Blight is by no means confined to the North End of Middletown. A year ago, Middletown Patch drove along the stretch of River Road from the Route 9 overpass to Meadow Meat and photographed many mattresses and furniture that since has been removed.

Still, a couple of clearly abandoned and semi-abandoned properties and areas on on Walnut Street and River Road were unsightly enough to be recorded (see photos).

Peterson says the next NEAT meeting is February Community Policing and Code Enforcement at the Green Street Arts Center and representatives from both public works and the health department attend (time to be determined). She also emailed both departments Wednesday about the specific trash I photographed and assured me Fred Rehm will inspect it and resolve the issue.

Peterson also said NEAT staff follow up on all "hotspots" reported by citizens on its website.