DETROIT – A Detroit neighborhood said their streets were saddled with trash that had been illegally dumped. Local 4 reached out and the city stepped in to help.
“I am stage four lung cancer and I don’t want the last of my life to be looking at garbage,” Caulette Djakonow, who lives on Dayton Street in Detroit, said.
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For over two months, Djakonow walked out of her home to see trash piling up in front of a nearby lot.
“When people come to my home, and I have a nice home, the first thing they say is ‘Wow, it looks so nice,’ No. Now, it’s ‘What the hell is that?’ That’s everyone, family and friends. I shouldn’t have to live like that,” she said.
But, that view changed Saturday morning after she called Local 4 and Local 4 called the city.
“I got up and I opened up the front door and it just didn’t look right down there,” Djakonow said. “So, I opened up the door and said, ‘Oh my god! It’s gone.’ So, I called you right away.”
She’s grateful it’s gone, but wishes it hadn’t taken so long.
Djakonow’s home has been in her family for decades.
When the trash started piling up, she says she repeatedly called waste services.
“They have to be held accountable and they have to get it out of there,” she said, describing what the waste service told her about removing the trash. “And, if not, then it goes to court and that could take another two to three months. So, what you’re telling me is that I have to look at this garbage for another five months?”
With stage four lung cancer, she says the mess was more than an eyesore. She worried about the health hazards it could create.
Once the city got Local 4’s call, crews came out and cleared this pile, along with others nearby.
“The Department of Public Works came out this morning and picked it all up,” Eva Torres, the District six manager for the city’s Department of Neighborhoods, said.
Torres is glad the city was able to step in quickly, but she wants people to know how to report problems like this.
“One of the most important methods is the Improve Detroit app and so you can download the app onto your phone,” she said. “You can go onto your laptop. You can take a picture of whatever it is that is out and that is sent directly to whatever department needs to take care of the issue.”
She says you can also call your district manager directly with concerns.
Djakonow says she now plans to work with the city to make sure the dumping doesn’t return.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “I am so grateful, you just don’t even know. I was so happy when I woke up and saw that. I was like ‘Hallelujah!’”