Mineola Plans New Trash Initiative Towards Businesses

While the notion of a politician or law enforcement official running on a platform that they will “clean up” a town has entered the realm of cliché, an idea that seems more at home with a sheriff riding a horse down a dusty dirt main street in an old western movie than the modern world, it has yet to halt its usage.

Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss recently announced that he would be launching his own clean up initiative in the village, one aimed at businesses who leave garbage on the streets over long weekends and creating eyesores and other quality of life issues.

“We have discussed this at length for quite a while now regarding businesses on our main corridors and our business and commercial areas putting out trash on Fridays and Saturdays,” deputy mayor Paul Pereira said during a meeting of the village board on April 17 at the village hall, “and certainly was one of the topics of conversation as we participated in the MAA parade and went down Mineola Boulevard we noticed several businesses on Saturday morning had their garbage out.”

Strauss stated that night that he had also had discussions with the Mineola Chamber of Commerce regarding the issue and that the village would begin issuing more summonses after repeatedly warning businesses that leave their garbage out several days before pickup.

“It’s not a new initiative, it’s a law that’s on the books,” Mineola Chamber President Bill Green said in a telephone conversation. “I think all the businesses should, it’s almost an obligation. It’s a way of promoting your business; it’s more or less keeping the fronts of your stores more presentable.”

Green, who maintains a flower planter in front of his business, Tsontos Furs, for beautification purposes, said that the chamber wasn’t asked to do any of the heavy-lifting for the new initiative as the village has issued fliers to the various businesses on Jericho Turnpike and the downtown area. 

“As a chamber we’re all for it and we feel that if every store owner keeps their store prettier... it makes the store more appealing,” Green said, adding that the landlord of the building would receive the letter, not necessarily the businesses themselves, which rent their storefronts. Many businesses also have apartments above the business storefronts, which is another reason why the fine would reportedly be levied against the owner of the property.

“He’s not looking to do this as a way of giving tickets and making more money, he wants to make the (village) look pretty,” Green said of Strauss’s plan.

“I think what the mayor has asked the business community to do is just use some common sense and be courteous to their neighbors and residents,” Pereira said.

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