Trash piles up at Sunset Park entrance at 44th Street and Sixth Avenue

Sunset Park neighbors are complaining about trash that keeps being left near the park entrance at 44th Street and Sixth Avenue.

Some residents say the buildup has made this corner feel like a dumping ground, with unpleasant odors and visible mess along the edge of the park.

For people who live nearby, walking the park at any hour is one of the best parts of daily life, a chance to enjoy the view and breathe air that feels cleaner under the trees. In recent months, however, they say that routine has started to come with a different impression at this entrance: stronger smells and piles of trash that keep returning.

“It’s really a constant accumulation that makes the area worse,” said Z.K., who lives near the park and has been in the neighborhood for years.

Z.K., the father of a 2-year-old, said spending more time in the park has made the problem hard to ignore. “I’ve seen trash piled up many times,” he said. He added that he is not sure what the park’s trash routine is, but “it definitely could be done much better.”

Another neighbor, Jessica, said the issue stands out in a working-class neighborhood like Sunset Park. She said the problem has grown over the past two years, and that repeated calls for help have not changed much.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you call 311, or contact the Parks Department, nothing changes,” she said.

Sunset Park has become one of the borough’s most heavily used parks in recent years, following major upgrades and a growing reputation as a green space with views of Manhattan, sunsets from the hill, a pool, courts, and space for families throughout the day.

Even so, neighbors say this corner often starts the day with piles of trash bags.

“One thing I notice is that some of the bags are just leaves that workers collect,” said Iveito, a neighborhood resident who visits the park with his dog. “The park workers work fast. They always take them away.”

But residents also point to bags that appear to include household trash. After the holidays, they say, discarded Christmas trees have also added to the mess. The corner served as a Parks Mulchfest drop-off site for Christmas trees between Dec. 26 and Jan. 11.

A newer city worker assigned to park cleanup told the Sunset Post he was not sure why residents leave trash there, but said crews remove it as part of their job to keep the park clean. A supervisor declined to comment.

Residents say the situation can feel worse during warmer months, when odors intensify. In rainy or snowy weather, they say, runoff from the trash mixes with water as it melts.

For neighbors like Christian, who said he sometimes picks up litter and also collects bottles to sell, the problem is not only about enforcement or staffing. He said it is also about community habits.