Reader wants Haymarket trash out of sight, mind

The historic open air market along Blackstone Street generates trash and debris that’s strewn about, Finnerty writes, so that residents and tourists walking by are forced to sidestep food and liquid spills or endure the foul odor of discarded fish and produce.

Photos and video Finnerty took showed food, empty plastic bottles, bags, and other litter on the ground; an overflowing trash can; and a large, sloppy storage area piled high with dirty plastic crates and wooden pallets, recycling bins, flapping tarps, and other materials haphazardly corralled between concrete barriers.

“Would it be possible to remove those concrete dividers filled with wooden pallets in the Haymarket area?’’ Finnerty wrote in a complaint sent to city officials that he shared with GlobeWatch. “The area is looking very filthy after the markets leave, and there is nothing but filth and trash left behind right near the Freedom Trail, from the Union Oyster House to the Greenway. The historic alleyways between the Oyster House, the Green Dragon, the Bell in Hand, and Durty Nellie’s could seriously use a power-washing, too — the smell is awful, and the alleys are filled with trash as well — is this the image we want to project to the thousands of visitors who walk through them every year? If you could address this problem, I’m sure many people would appreciate it!’’

THE CITY RESPONDS
Haymarket vendors are responsible for properly disposing of their trash and adhering to city sanitation regulations, said Peter Gori, senior manager of public realm projects for the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

“We expect the operators to respect the city and many of them do,’’ he said. “But it’s fair to say it’s deteriorated. Certainly, the vendors could do a better job.’’

At the request of nearby property owners, tenants, and businesses, Gori said, the city’s health department and inspectors have “ramped up enforcement in the last couple of weeks’’ of regulations governing food cleanliness, trash regulations, and other violations, such as vendors blocking handicap ramps during deliveries.

The current trash-hauling arrangement may also be partly to blame for the problems at Haymarket, Gori said. While city Public Works trucks remove trash every few hours during the Friday and Saturday selling days, a cost borne by the vendors, the volume of trash is “far, far in excess’’ of what the trucks can handle, he said.

To remedy that situation in the short term, the city plans to have a high-volume trash compactor and new storage facility operational by the end of August. The $150,000 compactor will be properly fenced with a rolling gate to contain and shield the area from view.

Once a suitable developer has been identified and a building goes up on what’s known as Parcel 9 along the Greenway, all Haymarket trash, an equipment storage and wash-down area, and restrooms for vendors will be moved off the street and inside the new structure, he said.