The season is referred to as “Fall” for a reason. Leaves are falling, and as
you drive around town you will find many homeowners have already piled
them at the curbside in front of their homes. And now, the Clarkstown
Highway Department is out on its annual mission to pick up those piles
from approximately 29,000 homes on over 1400 roads.
As you or your landscaper pile the leaves, please remember that safety
should come first. It is extremely important to remember that leaves
should not be placed in the street. Doing so creates an extremely dangerous
safety hazard for children, drivers, bikers, and pedestrians. Unfortunately,
it’s an important safety rule that is often ignored or forgotten. Every year
there are numerous violations throughout the town, which places an
unnecessary strain on our highway, code enforcement, and police
departments. Loose leaves should be placed in piles on your property near
the curb, not on the street.
In addition to prohibiting leaves from being placed in the streets, the Town
Code also states leaves cannot be left at intersections, school bus stops, near
fire hydrants, or blocking storm drains. Once again, despite the obvious
safety hazards that placing leaves in these areas creates, the town responds
to multiple violations involving these locations every year. The town will be
out issuing violations for these infractions, as the safety hazards they create
are potentially deadly. If you put your leaves in the street, you should
expect to receive a violation and a fine for doing so.
Pickups are done in stages and are broken down into 3 geographic areas
with 20 routes each. Homeowners can find which area and route they are
assigned to on the highway department’s interactive leaf program web
page. The site provides an anticipated start date for each route. Once the
route has begun, the actual start date will be posted. Please keep in mind
that anticipated start dates are only estimates, and the actual start date may
be earlier or later than what is posted. It is best to get your leaves out as
soon as possible.
There are two rounds of pickups planned. The first round began in early
November and will run through the month and into early December.
Weather permitting, a second sweep of each pickup route will take place.
If you hire a landscaper to clean up your leaves, please remember that
Clarkstown has a Landscaper’s Licensing Law requiring that all landscapers
must be licensed with the Town. This helps ensure that landscapers act
responsibly and remain committed to keeping our streets safe. You can
identify a licensed landscaper’s trucks by a registration sticker displayed on
all vehicles and trailers. Further details of the Landscaper Licensing Law
can be viewed on the Town website at: landscaping.clarkstown.org
As we move through this process, please be patient, get your leaves to the
curb as soon as possible, keep them off the street, and remember that our
Highway Department crews are working through the process as quickly and
efficiently as possible.
