Senator Helps Washington Ave. Residents to Get MTA to Tame Overgrown Vegetation
PELHAM, N.Y. – State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein (D- Bronx/Westchester) announced today that his office was successful in having MTA/ Metro-North Railroad clean up out-of-control vegetation that had grown onto Washington Avenue residents lines.
Senator Klein was contacted during the summer season by Rochelle Zeitman who was frustrated by the response she had received when she contacted the Metro North to cut down the overgrowth that had grown onto her and her neighbors properties. She had been trying for several years on her own to have this situation rectified to no avail as Metro-North insisted that they would not cut down weeds that were not interfering with train operations.
“The railroad put up a fence and there is no access from our yards so we cannot clean up and cut down weeds. Some of my neighbors are elderly senior citizens and are not able to constantly pull the vines and weeds. They live on fixed incomes and may not be able to afford to hire help to do this work for them.” said Rochelle Zeitlin
For several weeks, Klein advocated on Zeitman’s behalf insisting that the MTA was encroaching onto private property. Klein worked with her to take photographs and send them to the Metro-North for review. He also contacted the President of the Metro NorthRailroad to intervene in this matter. Finally, within three weeks of contacting the President’s office, Klein’s office was notified that the vegetation would be cleared within two days.
“I’m proud to have helped Rochelle and her neighbors cut through the bureaucratic red tape and find a solution to this problem," Senator Klein said. "I encourage anyone with a similar issue to contact my office. We've here to help.”
Senator Klein’s office can be reached at (800) 718-2039 [2].
