Garbage bins, open recycling issues discussed by board

The Monroe Village Board, during its Dec. 16 meeting, discussed options for addressing garbage bins left out on village streets long after scheduled pick up times.

Monroe Village Mayor Neil Dwyer said the village has received several complaints about residents not removing their pails from the streets after pick-up day and is researching solutions to correct this behavior.

Trustee John Karl suggested the board reach out to the garbage hauler about leaving the bins in the street, which causes issues for the street sweeper and snowplows that have to work around them. Trustee Debbie Behringer and Dwyer countered that if residents were bringing their cans back in, this wouldn’t be as big of an issue.

Village Attorney Alyse Terhune said she shared provisions she found in other municipal codes and advised the board to decide what they thought would best fit for the village. After discussing the ideal timeframe for residents to put out their garbage before pickup days and when to bring them in after pickup, the board authorized Terhune to draft a law that, if approved, would require residents to put their garbage out no earlier than 6 p.m. on the evening preceding pickup and to bring their garbage bin in from the street no later than 8 p.m. on the day of pickup.

Along with addressing issues of garbage containers, the board discussed the challenges of having open bins for recycling. This system, members of the board shared, leads to cardboard and other items being blown into the streets.

Dwyer suggested scheduling a joint meeting with the town of Monroe, the Village of Harriman and the vendor who provides recycling services to find a better solution. Dwyer also discussed the possibility of the village contracting its own recycling services in the future.

During the meeting’s public comment period, Monroe resident Carol Sotiropoulos, who said she was addressing the board on behalf of the group Hands Off Hudson Valley, asked the board to adopt resolutions in support of two proposed bills before state legislature that would address concerns about immigration enforcement and retention in the state.

According to Sotiropoulos, the Mandatory End to Lawless Tactics (MELT) Act would emphasize existing laws that require all policing agents except for SWAT teams to be clearly identified and would prohibited agents from being masked. She added that the FBI favors this due to the rise of immigration enforcement agent impostors. The New York for All Act would prohibit state and local police officers from collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to enforce federal immigration laws, from sending people into ICE custody and from sharing sensitive information with ICE. The law would further prohibit local police agents from sharing sensitive information with immigration enforcement and would bar ICE agents from entering non-public areas of state and local property without a judicial warrant and ensure people in custody are notified of their rights before being questioned by immigration enforcement agents.

Sotiropoulos applauded the village police’s efforts to make immigrant residents feel safe, including the Hispanic Outreach Initiative, having bilingual officers and not asking about immigration status. She also acknowledged Dwyer, who reminded her that the immigrant community in Monroe does not just include Latinos, and said the village is a model of how to support immigrant neighbors.

“Your adoption of these resolutions would open the pathway for organizations in surrounding communities, especially communities with a strong immigrant demographic to approach their boards as we are doing,” Sotiropoulos said.

Nora Staffanell, who also represented Hands Off Hudson Valley, shared the group’s “signs for solidarity” initiative to engage local businesses in reassuring the immigrant community. The group is asking businesses to post signs that include such phrases as, “We stand with immigrant families” and “No kings. No ICE. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here.”