Kingsbridge Residents Push BJ’s to Address Abandoned Shopping Cart Problem

Shopping carts from BJ’s Wholesale Club in Kingsbridge have become a familiar sight around the neighborhood. 

Blocks from the store’s perimeters, carts are abandoned along Bailey Avenue and Kingsbridge Avenue. They reach as far up as Van Cortlandt Park South and as far down as West 232nd Street.

For at least three years, carts have appeared — either in clusters or alone, sometimes filled with trash — on sidewalks, streets, grass or around businesses. 

Some residents said they hadn’t noticed the carts and did not think it was a pressing issue in the neighborhood. For others, it is a matter of aesthetics, cleanliness and Kingsbridge’s reputation. 

Zerelda Nothnagel, who has lived in Kingsbridge for nearly a decade, said the problem has worsened recently. 

“It’s brought the neighborhood down in terms of quality of life,” Nothnagel said. “It creates the vibe that it’s okay to do these things — it’s okay to litter, it’s okay to let the neighborhood go.” 

Dante Smith, a member of the Fort Independence Park Neighborhood Association, said the group makes an effort to file repeated 311 requests when the shopping carts appear. 

“There is a sense of community pride and desire to work together,” Smith said about Kingsbridge. “Shopping carts being littered across the sidewalk … it gives the perception that people don’t care and that we’re not engaged in our community.” 

Recurring hotspots for the carts often coincide with transit points, such as under the West 238th Street 1 train or nearby bus stops. Smith and other residents said BJ’s customers likely use the carts to transport their groceries until they reach these destinations. 

Smith said the Department of Sanitation is familiar with the complaint and often sends a truck to pick up the carts after a request is made. 

When a cart is reported on the street, the Department of Sanitation discards it as it would with any abandoned property. But if a cart is chained to a pole or filled with a homeless person’s belongings, it is another city agency’s responsibility, according to a department spokesperson. 

So, carts often go unaccounted for, leaving some like Nancy Reynoso, a resident of West 239th Street, searching for answers. 

“I really feel like they’re an eyesore. It’s horrendous,” Reynoso said. “I know they belong to BJs, and I’m wondering, what are they doing about it?”

Mark Slomiany, also associated with the neighborhood association, tried to contact BJ’s through its customer care email in 2022. Though the company responded, it did not address his concerns. 

BJ’s employees on-site were not permitted to speak to reporters. A corporate spokesperson for the company responded to The Press and said they are working to resolve the issue but did not provide further comment by the time of press. 

Margaret Groarke, a professor at Manhattan University and member of the neighborhood association, took the issue to City Councilman Eric Dinowitz’s office last year. 

“Dinowitz’s Chief of Staff [Jenna Klaus] informed me that BJ’s has decided to hire a third party to go around the neighborhood and collect their abandoned carts,” Groarke wrote in an email to the neighborhood association. 

That afternoon, she saw a pick-up truck loaded with carts driving down West 238th Street. 

Klaus told The Press the office has the cell phone number of the BJ’s club manager. When a complaint is received, the office informs the club manager. BJ’s has been cooperative, Klaus said. 

“I hope [BJ’s] is going to continue to pick up the carts periodically and keep them from becoming a neighborhood nuisance,” Groarke said. 

But, if necessary, the neighborhood association will take action once again.