Sutphin Boulevard BID Sanitation and Maintenance

Street Cleaning

Since the BID’s inception, keeping Sutphin Boulevard clean has been the BID’s top priority. During the winter months (October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May), the BID’s sanitation crew consist of two workers who service public areas six days a week (Monday to Saturday) from 8am to 6pm.  During the summer months (June, July, August, September), an additional crew member is added to the team and the crew’s hours are extended covering the District from 7am to 9pm, Monday to Saturday and on Sunday from 12pm to 6pm.

The workers activities include:

• Cleaning and sweeping sidewalks and gutters.
• Emptying garbage containers and liner replacement.
• Removing graffiti and illegally placed posters from public fixtures.
• Removing snow and ice from crosswalks and the areas surrounding public telephones and bus shelters.
• Maintaining trees and tree pit areas.

We are very proud of our workers who can be easily recognized by their vibrant green jump suits with the BID’s logo on the back. They service approximately 40 trash cans daily and work very closely with the Department of Sanitation’s 12th district who removes trash seven days a week, to keep Sutphin Boulevard clean and free of garbage. Our workers are often stopped by pedestrians who require directions and information and their presence provides additional security to the district making visitors and businesses feel safe.

Graffiti Removal Programs

In addition to keeping the streets clean, the BID is working very diligently to keep public fixtures and buildings “graffiti free”. This year, the BID has added the service of removing unsightly graffiti from buildings and security gates at no charge to the building and property owners. The BID is also working in conjunction with the Mayor’s office, the Queens Borough President’s office and the 103rd Precinct in an interagency task force to have graffiti removed throughout the District.

Big Belly Trash Compactors

Thanks to a grant from the Queens Clean Air Project and efforts of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, the Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement District received three (3) solar powered trash receptacles. These high-tech, solar-powered trash cans hold 6-8 times as much trash as a comparably sized trashcan, and has cut down on litter from overflowing cans.

Most municipal garbage cans hold about 40 gallons of trash, but the solar-powered cans, known as "Big Belly" units, can squeeze up to 300 gallons of trash into the same space. This means BID sanitation and maintenance crews can empty the trash roughly once a week instead of once a day. Since the bags will be changed less frequently it should free up some time for the maintenance workers to perform other tasks.