Resident says weeks of 311 calls haven’t stopped York Road trash pileup, rodents

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A Baltimore resident says he has spent weeks trying to get a trash problem cleaned up along York Road, contacting several city agencies and elected officials with little success.

Joe Little says trash has continued to pile up near the Dollar General along York Road, creating what he describes as an eyesore and contributing to a growing rat problem in the area.

“It’s just like a lone wolf screaming in the forest, but the neighborhood did call various agencies for what good it did,” Little said.

Little says the problem goes beyond scattered garbage. He has seen rats moving through the area and says the situation has continued despite repeated requests for help.

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“And then here come the rats as soon as you get dusk,” Little said, describing seeing them running near a fence in the area.

Little says he has called 311, the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, the mayor’s office, and Councilmember Mark Conway’s office multiple times.

He says those calls have not yet resulted in a lasting solution.

FOX45 reached out to Councilmember Conway’s office asking which agency is responsible for cleaning up the trash and whether the issue falls to DPW, Dollar General or another agency. We also asked whether Conway’s office followed up with DPW after Little’s complaints and what the city can do to address the trash and rat concerns.

Little says his frustration is now not only about who is responsible, but how many times residents should have to call before action is taken.

“Well, it seems like if you call 311, they’re kicking the ball around,” Little said. “Code enforcement, everybody’s referring you to code enforcement. 311, code enforcement, Conway’s office, code enforcement, even the mayor’s office at one time code enforcement.”

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FOX45 also reached out to the Baltimore City Office of Information and Technology to ask how the 311 process works and why residents may not be seeing results after submitting complaints.

In a statement, the city said:

“Every request received through 311 is logged into its centralized service request system and routed to the appropriate agency for resolution. Each agency operates under a service level agreement that defines the expected timeframe for completing that type of work.”

The city encouraged residents whose requests have not been addressed within the expected timeframe to follow up with 311 rather than pursue the matter on their own.

FOX45 also reached out to the mayor’s office and is still waiting to hear back.