A resident’s guide to keeping Riverdale clean

To the editor,
I have lived in North Riverdale for most of my life, first in a co-op apartment and then in a single-family house, so I read with interest, “What Will It Take to Bring Gloss to North Riverdale?” I think that the efforts of the small army of volunteers is laudable; in addition, I suggest that there is more that can be done by individual residents and by certain folks who do not live here.

Do not park your vehicles within fifteen feet of a NYC fire hydrant. If you block access to a hydrant, either by parking or standing, then you are endangering the lives and property of nearby residents and delaying access to firefighters who must move your vehicle or smash its windows to reach the hydrant.

Clean up after your dogs. Individual property owners are not responsible for handling your dogs’ droppings—you are.
Do not dump your trash, including your dog’s waste bags, in residents’ individual garbage and compost bins. Use your own disposal facilities and the public trash bins. If you dump your dog’s waste bags in our garbage and compost bins the Sanitation Department will not pick up these individual deposits. Homeowners do not want to deal with your garbage—it’s your responsibility.

Do not post your private messages, garage sale ads, professional service ads, etc., on public light poles, parking meters, telephone poles, etc. It’s not allowed and it makes the neighborhood look messy. And if you see such postings, then please remove them.

Graffiti is not welcome.

If you are a homeowner who has vegetation on your property that overhangs or otherwise blocks the street, please give your bushes, etc., a trimming.

Operators of restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, and similar businesses: please do not put tables and chairs so far onto the sidewalk that they impede pedestrians.

VIVIAN J. OLEEN