Paper on the ground, newspaper, plastic cups, discarded potato chip bags, soda and water bottles, flyers, and even pieces of bread, meat and leftover tacos are just some of the things you will find on the streets of Astoria and Jackson Heights in Queens. According to the census, along with the Bronx, Queens is the borough with the most Latinos in New York City.

Although the office of the Queens Borough President Helen Marshall reports that it has not received formal complaints indicating a serious garbage problem in Queens, local leaders and residents insist that the problem is worsening, and that it is the direct result of residents’ lack of education and insufficient work done by the Sanitation Department. The most radical complaints directly blame Latino immigrants, but others agree that it is everyone’s responsibility.

“I’m an immigrant, too, but ever since so many Latinos arrived in this neighborhood, there is more trash in the streets,” said Danais Gorcari, originally from Greece, who claimed that when Astoria was an Italian and Greek neighborhood “shone like a mirror.”

Astoria Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-District 36) expressed concern about the neighborhood’s hygiene, and although he commented that it resulted from an increase in the population in that part of the city; however, he denied that Latinos have changed the face of the neighborhoods’ streets. He said that the Department of Sanitation needs to increase garbage collection and place more garbage cans on the sidewalks. “We also should start a campaign to educate people and reinforce laws so that people who violate them will be fined accordingly,” he added.

“There’s no sense of community here, so people throw paper on the ground without thinking,” said Ramiro Vasco, a Colombian who has lived in Astoria for 30 years.

He commented that when he says something to litterers, he only gets insults in return.

“'What do you care? Butt out,’ is what they say,” said his wife Rosalba Vasco. “The streets look like trash cans.”

Dan Andrews, spokesman for the Queens Borough President’s office, said that residents need to file formal complaints so that they can be aware of the situation and investigate it. At the same time, he confirmed that the city needs to dedicate more resources to the problem.

“These are zones that have been growing and the services need to increase,” he warned.

Jackson Heights resident Eladio Villareal said that although several parts of his neighborhood are dirty, the cleanliness has improved because businesses are taking care of their garbage to avoid costly fines.

Kathy Dawkins, a spokesperson for the Sanitation Department, said that her employees are doing a good job, collecting garbage two or three times a week and also trying to clean out the garbage cans frequently. In addition, she commented that it is the responsibility of business owners to clean in front of their establishments.

Yesterday, on the corner of 29th Street and 30th Avenue in Astoria, a 15 year old had no regrets about throwing a soda bottle and a bag of chips on the ground.

“What do I care? That’s why there are garbage men,” said the teen.

Meanwhile, 78-year-old Mary Gioulas offered that the most important thing was to “teach people that trash is not what is thrown on the ground, but those who throw it.”

According to a Census report released August 3, Queens – the city’s most diverse borough – is 26 percent Hispanic, 586,000 out of 2,241,000 people.

* Astoria and Jackson Heights are two of the neighborhoods with the largest presence of Latinos, and immigrants in general, in the city.

* If someone wants to file a complaint about the garbage, they can call 311 or send a letter to the Queens Borough President at 120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens 11424.

* To promote cleanliness in the city, the Department of Sanitation has launched the “adopt a garbage can” program, in which business owners place plastic bags in garbage cans so that when full, the bags can be removed an collected by sanitation workers. The program also offers citizens up to 50 percent of the money received in fines, if they report violations to sanitation laws.