Boston, Feb. 1, 2014, -– Chinatown community organizations and the City of Boston have partnered to tackle the issue of illegal dumping and excessive trash in Chinatown over the past several months.
Lion dance in Boston Chinatown (file photo).
A Community Forum is planned for Feb. 8, at 1p.m. at the Asian American Civic Association located on 87 Tyler Street, Boston, MA 02111.
“All organizations and individuals are welcome to join the efforts. The more participants there are, the more effective the collaboration is in transforming Chinatown into a clean, hygienic community,” said Mary Chin, Board President of the Asian American Civic Association.
Boston inspectors walked through Chinatown and issued eight abatement orders to building owners, with seven days to correct environmental violations of trash and rodents on Dec. 16, 2013. Two $25tickets were also given to residents for putting out trash too early.
Illegal dumping is defined by the City of Boston as “discarding garbage, trash, and debris at an unauthorized location.”
John Meaney, Boston’s Director of Environmental Services, saidthe City has ways to find out who does illegal dumping. Violators can be fined up to $250. Residential trash disposed in the wrong location is subject to a $50 fine, and trash put out on the curb earlier than 5:00 PM before a pickup day results in a $25 fine.
The full list of codes enforced by the City’s Code Enforcement Police can be found online at www.cityofboston.gov/isd/sanitation/codes.asp.
“If you see any illegally dumped trash, leave the trash and call Inspectional Services to have a Code Enforcement Officer come tag it,” Meaney said.
Min Wu,Assistant Executive Director of the Chinese Economic Development Council, is frustrated at the current situation.
“It’sa lose-lose situation because if we clean up the trash that has been illegally dumped, it actually encourages violators to keep dumping their trash there because they know someone will clean it up,” Wusaid. “If we don’t clean it up, it becomes disgusting and begins to smell.”
Current members and organizations involved in this initiative are:
• Amy Guen, Community Volunteer
• Bill Moy, Co-Moderator, Chinatown Neighborhood Council
• Courtney Ho, Executive Director, Chinatown Main Street
• Daniel Prendergast, Principal Health Inspector, City of Boston Inspectional Services Department
• Denny Ching, Neighborhood Coordinator, City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Services
• Edward Chiang, Board Chairman, Chinese Economic Development Council
• John Meaney, Director of Environmental Services, City of Boston Inspectional Services Department
• Ken Wu, Member, Asian American Civic Association Youth Council
• Kevin Huang, Member, Asian American Civic Association Youth Council
• Leo C. Boucher, Assistant Commissioner, City of Boston Inspectional Services Department
• Margaret Reid, Director, Boston Public Health Commission Division of Healthy Homes and Community Supports
• Mary Chin, Board President, Asian American Civic Association
• Min Wu, Assistant Executive Director, Chinese Economic Development Council
• Patricia Moy, Owner, China Pearl Restaurant
• Phillip Voong, Member, Asian American Civic Association Youth Council
• Rick Wong, Advisor, Wong Family Association
• Sudan Zhuang, Vice President, Asian American Civic Association Youth Council
• Sgt. Thomas Lema, Boston Police Department
• Tiffany Du, Member, Asian American Civic Association Youth Council
• Tony Franzone, General Manager, Doubletree Boston-Downtown
Interested individuals or organizations can contact Mary Chin (陳美霞) via email at [email protected] or by phone at 617-777-3952.