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Mechanical leaf collection: service just for the wealthy?
Councilman Frank Rizzo
Mechanical leaf collection: service just for the wealthy?
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| Councilman Frank Rizzo |
Today, at-large Councilman Frank Rizzo introduced a resolution calling for the city to restore mechanical leaf collection, a service which Mayor Nutter cut last November, during the fiscal budget crisis.
The resolution was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Anna Verna, Jannie Blackwell, Curtis Jones, Joan Krajewski, Donna Reed Miller, Marian Tasco and Brian O’Neill.
It passed 14-2, with Councilmembers DiCicco and Green dissenting and Councilman Greenlee absent. (*corrected from an earlier draft, which gave the vote incorrectly as 15-2).
The Mayor's office has said that it opposes re-instituting the service, choosing to spend the money elsewhere: "We're asking citizens to work with us on this issue so we can meet our spending priorities such as police, fire, and libraries," said spokeswoman Maura Kennedy yesterday.
Rizzo, however, saw it a different way:
"There are certain things that the city has an obligation to do," he told the Inquirer.
"There are certain things you can’t put a price tag on," he told the Daily News.
Actually, putting a price tag on the service is pretty easy: it cost the city $400,000 annually.
And, it turns out, only about 10% of the city was ever getting the service. And, it turns out, that 10% includes the richest neighborhoods in Philadelphia.
Streets Department maps obtained by the CP show that only tiny pockets of the city were receiving mechanical leaf collection services in the first place.
I apologize for the poor image quality, and we're working on getting better maps. A Streets spokesperson confirmed that the different shadings (solid vs. striped) simply refer to different scheduled weeks of collection.
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| Shaded portions (only) received mechanical leaf collection in 2008 |
Among the pockets of Philly that did get the service, Chestnut Hill and West Mt. Airy seem to dominate in the northwest. Elsewhere: Somerton, Bustleton, and a few other pockets of the northeast; the small gentrified triangle of West Philly that extends west from the University bounded by Chestnut, Baltimore, and 52nd Street; and the swath of Overbrook that hugs City Ave; and a teeny, tiny little pocket of South Philly.
The rest of West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, the River Districts, and South Philadelphia -- had to rake their leaves themselves.
Asked why these areas - and not others - received service, Streets spokeswoman June Canton pointed out that they have more leaves. And we don't doubt she's right: but they're also wealthier – a lot wealthier, in some cases – than the rest of the city.
There may be "certain things the city has an obligation to do," as Councilman Rizzo put it: but is this really one of them?
If I bagged all the leaves that my trees produce (and those my neighbor's trees send our way), it would be hard to estimate how many bags that would be. Hundreds, I expect. I generally dispose of two long (densely packed) piles, about 60 feet long, each year. Not having mechanical collection would add more time and effort than I can imagine. It's already a daunting task! Thanks, council, for voting to restore this service.
Hello, and thanks for the comments. I just wanted to clarify, in light of the previous response: this article is relevant only to so-called "mechanical collection" of leaves -- not the disposal of leaves collected by residents. If you rake up your leaves, bag them, and leave them by the curb, the city will still pick them up. The resolution mentioned above has to do with a special service wherein the city actually collected the leaves itself. Hope that helps clarify the discussion.
Jb, it's not about raking, it's about disposal. I can rake 8 bags every weekend for 3 months if I want to where I live in the northeast. Should I put that out for standard garbage or recycling each week? Isn't it better if something specific can come around, collect the leaves from a raked pile in front of each house vaccuum style and put them to a better purpose, like compost for other city projects as opposed to just adding size to the landfills in bags.
Typical city council bullshit. Raking leaves isn't that hard you rich assholes!
Wealthier people are more likely to live on property with trees, so their disproportionate share of service is understandable. But backing up a step and wondering why the councilmen want to spend $400K on leaves in the first place, and in the middle of a budget crisis no less, needs an answer. Contact your city council rep: http://www.phillyvoter.org/locator/ElectedOfficials.aspx
Plant Evergreens. Conifers. No leaves, constant, year-round photosynthesis. Better for nature, better for suburbs.
I just wish that you all could see the amount of leaves that fall onto my property. I would need at least 100 bags for each raking during the fall; and we rake twice per season. I have paid over $1000 to have leaves raked and then most of the time we do it ourselves. It takes many days, not hours, days. Three hours may be fun, but 100 hours is not. It is now a job. Maybe all of us rich folk (as you say) should cut down all of the beautiful trees in and around our homes near Fairmount Park and Valley Green. We certainly pay enough in taxes that we should have leaf pick up. Philadelphia is among the few large cities where trash is picked up only once per week. My children can't attend the public schools. What are we getting for our money here? Yeah, the least they can do is pick up my leaves. This city continues to rape its citizens day after day. It is not 1960. Get with it Philadelphia. Politics kill the beautiful city!
It is apparent that the only citizens worthy of ANY city services, are the so called "POOR".....Who already have an infinite number of social programs available to them. Possibly, while I am at work all day long to pay for all their programs, maybe they could take care of my leaf problem!!! That way I would feel like I am getting "SOMETHING" for the thousands of dollars I pay in "TAXES"
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