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Allston philosophy
By adamg on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:31pm
Happy Allston Christmas, everybody!
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Comments
Observation and a tip from the Grinch
Is it safe to assume that the driver and/or passengers of that city-owned (looks like DPW) truck parked half-on/half-off the median next to all of the U-Haul trucks was, at most, sticking the "beware of bedbugs" stickers on furniture rather than ticketing people for improper disposal of trash?
NB for students: the "nothing mattress" ideology, while creative in this instance, is what your non-student neighbors will resent and will be why they are calling the cops next week. Just sayin'. And oh, Welcome to (non-hermetically sealed in a dormitory) Boston.
I remember a couiple years
I remember a couiple years ago when September 1st was also Labor Day, it was epic. My new roommate was amazed by the sheer amount of moving vans crammed next to the Packard's Corner T stop.
The philosophy mattress...
I assume that's a Queen?
Somebody really likes Edward Cullen
Although you can't tell from the photo, somebody else stopped long enough to pen in a phallus on Cullen's face.
Allston Xmas wouldn't be complete without ...
A walking 'Gansett tallboy welcoming all the freshmen:
Not trash
I ran across "Nothing Really Mattress" yesterday (pre-bedbugs tag) and thought to myself: just as turning on a car's hazard lights somehow magically makes illegal parking legal, taping a pun to a mattress makes it as though you didn't just throw a bunch of trash on the sidewalk.
Not just philosophy found in Allston
But *the* philosophy of the students in Allston.
Pice form this morning
http://www.flickr.com/photos/selkie30/sets/7215762...
If the city wanted to stop the students trashing...
...they'd just consistently fine the property owner $200. By next year, landlords wouldn't refund security deposit til student and trash gone, and would deduct any city fine. And if security deposits weren't covering city fines plus property damage, they'd start being more selective with who they rent to.
Agreed. Nothing merry about this picture.
I find nothing merry about celebrating this kind of disorder. Putting on the sidewalk some furniture that won't fIt in your truck is one thing, but just turning your street into a dumping ground is filthy and inconsiderate. That the city permits this introduces new arrivals to the idea that this kind of disorder is a-okay.
I deliberately did not purchase otherwise attractive condos in Allston for this very reason. Unfortunately, this stuff is expanding to other neighborhoods, including the North End.
I don't know precisely what
I don't know precisely what to do about the problem, but I will note, that as I came home from work on Tuesday- there was a lot of garbage on the street, but it was in bins, bagged in tidy piles on the sidewalks, as much as it could be. By morning, all those piles had been ripped apart and strewn into the streets.
It's not just the students.
Asians
Hate to say so, but first Gen Asians love Allston Xmas (and a few other frugal persons).
It's pretty common in Allston to find your trash ripped to shreds in the quest for 5 cent deposit cans and other goodies on any given trash day, let alone this weekend.
And don't ever think of leaving a empty keg outside! I remember the huge smile the size of the sun on this one little old ladies face as she wheeled a keg out from in back of some kids house and down the road back in the day. I believe there's a (ridiculous) $50-75 deposit on those and beer balls from Blanchards.
Stop blaming the landlords..
It's the students who are pigs.
Landlords have responsibility for tenants and financial link
Like it or not. It is the students who are pigs, but the landlord is responsible for the property, and typically earning a nice profit from student rent. They usually have a security deposit, which could be withheld if the place is a dump. All that trash is dumped on the sidewalk so it's not still in the apartment. A reminder from the landlord before the final trash day and reminder that the security deposit is in danger would go a long way.
Give me a break
Have you seen the slums in Allston that pass as apartments? $600-900 a room in multiple room apartments?
This starts and ends with the slumlords.
The city actually does a pretty good job at cleanup. Every year they have a fleet of trash trucks ready to go, on each block and get right to it. By the middle of next week, you don't even know it looked that bad the week before.
Funny story time: One year down on Pratt street a impronto Frat house all moved out of a huge house next to the rail yard. They literally had a mountain of trash and furniture in front of the house. It was so high it reached the second story windows.
The Trashmen had it gone in a few hours.
This year was a nice fast
This year was a nice fast year for cleanup- as 9/1 coincided with regular trash pickup, in Allston anyhow. And they do send out trucks on 9/1 even when it's not the normal pickup day. The streets are already pretty much clear!