Hell's Kitchen 'Garbage Corral' Shut Down By City: Report

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — New York City shut down efforts taken by Hell's Kitchen residents to establish a parking spot "garbage corral" to liberate their sidewalk from the refuse, according to reports.

City officials ordered residents of West 38th Street to place their trash back on their own sidewalk after taking over a single parking spot to store the garbage this week, Streetsblog first reported. The order came despite City Council Speaker Corey Johnson — whose district includes Hell's Kitchen — praising the residents for their forward-thinking approach to trash disposal.

"Love my neighbors getting creative and taking the initiative here. NYC should take a hard look at using street space for trash in environmentally friendly, anti-rodent containers citywide," Johnson Tweeted on Tuesday following Streetsblog's initial reporting on the effort.

By the time Johnson tweeted the residents had already been stifled by the city, Streetsblog reported.

The speed at which the city shut down West 38th Street's trash corral surprised organizer Christine Berthet. The pedestrian safety advocate told Streetsblog that the city overlooks illegal use of parking spots every day, but apparently won't abide an effort to free up sidewalk space.

"Thousands of cops and construction workers take parking space illegally in the city all the time," Berthet told the publication. "But who cares about that?"

Read the full Streetsblog report here.