This NYC street is getting rotten reviews for its unsanitary conditions

Publish date: 2024-07-10

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Neighbors have a beef with a pair of Chinese restaurants in the East Village that are brazenly dumping their trash – including raw meat and bones on St. Marks Place.

“The rats, local birds, and seagulls love the feast. Their trash usually sits for days. The stench is overpowering,” fumed Ian Fair, 65, who lives across the street from the stinky situation.

Szechuan Mountain House gets raves for their Kung Pao Chicken and CheLi is known for their Longjing shrimp, braised pork belly and smoked fish — but the second-floor eateries are getting zero stars for their disposal of trash.

“This routine has been going on for well over a year,” Fair said, adding the sidewalk where the garbage sits is almost never power washed or even scrubbed by heavy broom, soap and water.

Raw food and garbage dumped outside Chinese restaurants at 19-23 St. Marks Place in the East Village. Helayne Seidman

“It’s all wet slop, remains, entrails, whatever they are serving. It’s really disgusting. Now the summer is here and it smells worse as the heat kicks up,” he said.

The nasty mess smells so bad, another local said it impacts the air quality.

“I cannot breathe, it’s too heavy, dirty smell,” Helen Kim, the manager of a nearby tattoo and piercing shop, groused.

Locals complain that the mess is impacting air quality. Helayne Seidman

“They always try to sneak and throw the garbage in front of my stores,” she claimed. 

Li Xu, manager of Szechuan Mountain House, said his restaurant pays a private carter, Metropolitan Recycling, Inc. to pick up the garbage “every day, seven days a week.”

But “sometimes they just didn’t come” or only pick up part of the garbage, said Li, who insisted he’s sent workers to clean up the trash when the garbage bags were split open.

“The stench is overpowering,” fumed neighbor Ian Fair. Helayne Seidman

Jen Li, 24, who works at a Japanese crepe shop below the restaurants, said the garbage piles up “once or twice a week” and has driven away business. 

A restaurant worker down the block pinned the blame on garbage collectors who “don’t want to pick up.”

“It makes it very dirty and stinky and disgusting.” said Min Yu, 33.

Raw meat lies on sidewalk after a trash bag splits open outside 19 St. Marks Place. Helayne Seidman

Since April, the city Department of Sanitation has received three 311 complaints for dirty conditions at 23 St. Marks Place, and one for illegal dumping at 19 St. Marks Place, officials said.

In that same time period, the agency issued five violations to 23 St. Marks Place and three violations to 19 St. Marks Place, said department spokesman Vincent Gragnani.

Businesses are required to hire private sanitation to collect their trash and recyclables and can get hit with fines of $50 to $100 for improper disposal, Gragnani noted.

Fair says “it does feel like the 70s again.” Helayne Seidman
Luis Xu, captain at Szechuan Mountain House, denies that the mess comes from his restaurant. Helayne Seidman

“It’s discouraging,” Fair said of the meaty issue. “I’ve been through enough rough New York City stuff. It does feel like the 70s again.”

Metropolitan Recycling, Inc., did not return messages.

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