Editor's Notebook

Time Lapse: Hyattsville Trash Day Loop

Here's a quick, herky-jerky reminder for Hyattsville to set out your trash and recycling on the appropriate day.

It's Tuesday, and for residents living in some of Hyattsville's eastern-most neighborhoods, that means it's trash day. Here's a little Vine video showing a brief looping-time-lapse of some of our city's public service workers doing their thing to make our town a nice place to live.  Wondering when trash day is in your neck of the woods? Check out these maps to see when you need to set out your trash in Hyattsville. Also, recycling is collected by the county waste management department throughout the city on either Thursday or Friday, depending on where you live. And if you thought figuring out when exactly that is would be an easy internet research task, you'd be wrong. Turns out you have to guide your way through a small maze of automated…

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Hyattsville Preps for Snowstorm

City public works crews burn the midnight oil to keep streets passable.

Crews from the Hyattsville Department of Public Works have been up throughout the night prepping, monitoring, and trying to keep the city's streets clear. According to city Street Supervisor Joe Buckholtz, crews began reporting at 11 p.m. on Tuesday evening to begin treating the roadways.  "They'll transition into snow removal as it becomes necessary," said Buckholtz. "Crews are expected to remain on duty until the conclusion of the weather event."  If the snowfall is heavy enough, city leaders could opt to delay the  sidewalk snow removal requirement, a new power in the city's winter weather toolkit. The law, passed late last year, gives the city's head code enforcement officer the discretion to extend the snow removal requirement's 24-…

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Hyattsville Hires Public Works Director

Council now looks to complete city administrator hire, begin search for new human resources director.

Less than one week after the resignation of Acting Public Works Director Julia McTague became public knowledge, the Hyattsville city council approved the hire of a new Public Works director in the form of Lesley Riddle, who currently works as the Assistant Director of Public Works for the city of Greenbelt.  The hire was announced after a brief closed session held at the outset of last night's city council meeting.  According to Abby Sandel, Department of Community Services director for the city of Hyattsville, Riddle's first day on the job will be in mid-March.  City officials have been actively searching for a new public works director since shortly after the resignation of McTague's predecessor Patrick Ryan, who gave up the post in …

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City Rescues Rabbit From Hyattsville Roadway

City seeks owner of rabbit found by public works employee in southern Hyattsville.

If any Hyattsville area residents lost a slate-grey rabbit recently, you might want to stop by city hall, and quickly. Earlier this morning, an employee of the Hyattsville Department of Public Works was stopped by a resident who directed the employee's attention to a seemingly domesticated rabbit found by the side of the road in the vicinity of 35th Avenue and Gallatin Street in southern Hyattsville. The employee brought the rabbit into the city vehicle he was driving and back to the Hyattsville Municipal Building where city employees are watching it for the time being, according to Abby Sandel, director of the Hyattsville Community Services Department.  The city of Hyattsville does not have an animal control department, and city staff …

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Hyattsville DPW Gets New Gear

Aging city public works fleet gets more than $292,000 in new vehicle upgrades.

The Hyattsville City Council approved $292,300 in new vehicle purchases for the city's Department of Public Works last night. City public works employees will soon be digging holes with a new $73,300 John Deere 310J Backhoe, crushing and moving trash with a new $172,200 Heil DuraPack 5000 hydraulic garbage compactor, and hauling gear with a $48,600 Chevrolet Silverado extended cab pickup truck.   The new backhoe replaces a busted 1996 John Deere 310D which the city currently owns. This year's budget did not anticipate the need for a new backhoe. However, that unit needs an estimated $16,700 in repairs, and the city has spent more than $20,000 over the last five years to keep it running.  The new garbage compactor, which mounts on the back …

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Matthew D. McKnight

8:49 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The truck can pick up the "new" trash cans. The current trucks can pick up the "new" trash cans. The current trucks (and this new one) have a loader on the back that picks up the toter, flips it and tips the trash in.   more ›

City Leaf Collection Begins Today

Find out when your block is slated for leaf collection.

Just as the leaves blown down by Superstorm Sandy dry out, Hyattsville begins its seasonal leaf collection routes today.  Workers from the Hyattsville Department of Public Works will be collecting leaves from curbsides from now through mid-January.  Crews hit up each residential block once per week during that time. Residents can find out when exactly during the week their leaves will be collected with this helpful spreadsheet.  Full leaf collection details can be found on the city's website. Here are some tips from the city of Hyattsville on how to best prep your leaves for the city crews:   

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City Sets Electric Gadget Recycling Day

Hyattsville offers free electronics recycling later this month.

Got an old VHS tape deck, television or any other obsolete electronics laying around? Have you been wanting dispose of them, but are concerned about your old electronics just taking up space in a landfill somewhere?  Well, if you're a Hyattsville resident, you are in luck.  The city will hold an electronics recycling day on Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Department of Public Works yard in the Hyattsville's southeastern section at 4633 Arundel Place. he event runs from 8 a.m. to noon.  Residents will be able to bring up to eight electronic devices to be recycled at no charge.

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Jim Groves

1:52 pm on Friday, October 12, 2012

Agree with Sam. So often I'll see TV sets and other electronic devised being set out with regular garbage. If the City would hold these more often than once or twice a year, maybe there would be a place that they could store the discarded material until they ship out all the other electronics.   more ›

Three City Departments Set to Gorge for Good

Charity eating competition pits city police, fire and public works in a race to eat massive burger.

In a city that boasts a world within walking distance, maybe we can excuse the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department, and the city police and public works departments for participating in an eating competition, fundraiser and publicity stunt slated for 3 p.m. today. That's when they'll be gathering in Hyattsville's Elevation Burger to face off in a three-way race to see which team can scarf down a 10-patty hamburger in the shortest amount of time.  No word yet on if there'll be a biggest-loser style competition to walk the calories off through Hyattsville's historic and oh so trendy mixed use neighborhoods. So that's where the eating competition comes in. There's even a trophy up for grabs, the inaugural Vertigo Cup.  But it's also a …

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Hyattsville Public Works Director Resigns

DPW Director Patrick Ryan's last day to be March 16.

The Hyattsville City Council has another administrative vacancy to deal with.  Nearing the end of a two-year contract, Hyattsville Department of Public Works Director Patrick Ryan has resigned to take a new job in the midwest, effective March 16, according to Mayor Marc Tartaro. The resignation comes as members of City Council, including Tartaro and Ward Five Councilor Ruth Ann Frazier and Ward Four Councilor Paula Perry, were advocating for an overhaul of the Department of Public Works.  Tartaro, in a brief interview after last night's City Council meeting, said that the city will address the vacancy left by Ryan's departure.  "We're looking internally, initially, to have someone to keep things going while we're going out to find a new …

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Jenni Pompi

3:50 pm on Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Wow, that's a lot of vacancies!   more ›