Frustrated
WATERTOWN POST – OPINION
A Month of Trash and Silence: A View from the Kitchen Window
By the Editor, Watertown Post
This is the daily view from a resident’s kitchen window here in the City of Watertown, New York — and it’s been this way for more than 30 days. Trash piled high, sidewalks completely blocked, and no meaningful response from zoning or code enforcement. Not even a courtesy check-in. Just silence.
To anyone living in a working-class neighborhood, this story is familiar. While the powers that be obsess over watering the fairways at Thompson Park Golf Course and schmoozing at the Ives Street Country Club, basic residential areas — where actual taxpayers live — are left to rot. Rats run freely, feral cats are being mutilated (with several incidents reported on Prospect Street), and the people in charge seem too distracted or indifferent to care.
This isn’t just a nuisance. It’s public health. It’s property value. It’s dignity.
Meanwhile, the mayor — a well-known RINO in a red hat — plays photo-op politics and lets city infrastructure crumble. Last year, one resident hit a sunken manhole cover on a city street, causing $1,800 in car damage. When the city repaves roads, here’s a revolutionary idea: raise the manhole covers before you throw down new asphalt. You know, like professionals do.
The city council? Past and present — with few exceptions — has proven mostly useless. A revolving door of golf-course apologists, cocktail circuit regulars, and clueless rubber-stampers. If you don’t live on the “right” street, your concerns are trash… literally.
Watertown doesn’t need another ribbon-cutting. It needs leadership. It needs code enforcement. It needs someone to care more about the neighborhoods than the fairways.
Until then, enjoy the view. We sure aren’t.
By the Editor, Watertown Post
About the Author
