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To the Editor:
It is so frustrating to read the article on spring cleanups, (“Let the spring cleanups begin,” March 27) which I’m reading at this very moment. I reside on the 600 block of Morris Street, an absolutely horrendously filthy dirty block as far as trash strewn in the streets. I’ve tried unsuccessfully for years to organize a bit of a cleanup, and I still, every chance I get, sweep as much as the street as possible on both sides. I sweep and pick up the trash whenever possible. For instance, the night before trash pick up, before showering in the morning, and whenever I have the energy to do so.
Last year around this time, I swept both sides of the street thoroughly, and obviously there was so much trash I could not carry it all. So I left piles on the white line in the street in anticipation of bagging it the night before trash night. I was told by the 311 operator not to sweep the street and that what I was doing was illegal. She added I can be charged an illegal dumping fine for every address on the street ($300 dollars).
To add insult to injury, just this morning, a Philadelphia police officer was putting flyers on windshields on the 600 block of Morris Street and I assume the surrounding area, alerting neighbors to car break-ins. What a joke!
Less than a year ago, someone broke into my car and left a telephone behind. The owner was Spanish-speaking. I did not leave a message or speak to him. I proceeded to take the telephone to 3rd District headquarters, 11th and Wharton streets, and spoke with the lieutenant on duty. Essentially what he did was laugh at me, saying he cannot do anything without witnessing it himself. I do not know the law, and although I assume that he does, it just sickens me that he had no interest in doing anything. His absolutely unhelpful, lethargic personality was disgusting. People who do not think outside the box, especially in law enforcement, bewilder me.
Thinking there was a rash of break-ins in the neighborhood, my thinking was they could at least go knock on his door (I provided them with an address) and just to let him know his telephone was found in a car that had recently been broken into. It just may have frightened him enough to curtail his activity. I left 11th and Wharton feeling so defeated.
Good luck in your endeavors. I certainly appreciate them. And if by chance you have any way of putting the fireplug back on my street corner, I will wash it even more thoroughly the next time.
Daniel Lanzilloti South Philadelphia
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