Trash Cans in Red Hook Only for the Rich, Study Finds

Great Trash Can Divide in Red Hook

Six high school seniors spent hours after school counting trash cans and observing trash to discover that the more gentrified part of the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn is incomparably cleaner than the poorer, residential areas.

The students’ efforts were done with the backing of the community group “Red Hook Initiative” this past spring. As part of the same program the group will be holding a clean-up party tomorrow, with their eye on the dirtiest streets in Red Hook, according to the students’ findings.

Like Two Different Neighborhoods

The students discovered that on Van Brunt Street between Verona and Van Dyke Streets, there were eleven trash cans. This street is a popular restaurant strip with nice shops, recently gentrified. On the stretch of blocks, but only a few streets over on Columbia Street close to the projects, they did not find even one trash can.

“It’s like two different neighborhoods,” said Karin-Jolie Rosado, 18, one of the researchers and a senior at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies.

“I didn’t even realize the difference until I actually started paying attention and when I went out and did the survey,” she added.

Maribeth White, 24, a supporter of The Red Hook Initiative said that,

“All that trash is just kind of there in our environment. You can’t take pride in your community if it looks like crap.”