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Marquis of Debris: Stadium-area folks tired of trash games

FED UP with litterbugs in your neighborhood? Then talk trash with the Marquis by sending a note to trash@phillynews.com.

FED UP with litterbugs in your neighborhood? Then talk trash with the Marquis by sending a note to

» READ MORE: trash@phillynews.com

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STADIUM DISSERVICE: Living near Philly's beloved sports stadiums means neighbors are begrudgingly used to noise, traffic and even a few drunk fans who come and go on game day. What occasionally gets left behind, one neighbor says, is the litter.

Debbie Frommer typically sees workers with the Sports Complex Special Services District in their navy-blue pants and red shirts walking through her South Philly neighborhood with trash cans and brooms.

"I watch these guys," Frommer said. "They roll by my house with their trash can on wheels and they pick up virtually nothing."

The workers are usually too busy talking on their cellphones to notice trash blowing by at their feet, she said.

The special-services district, established in 2002, is funded by the sports teams as a way of reinvesting in the communities bordering the stadiums.

Shawn Jalosinski, the district's executive director, says the organization keeps tabs on its four sanitation ambassadors and supervisor - including using GPS tracking - to ensure they're hard at work. Jalosinski said the area south of Oregon Avenue between 7th and 20th streets is split into four subgroups, and workers walk through each service area at least once a week to remove litter.

Some neighbors might be confused, Jalosinski said, because they'll see the ambassadors on their block one day, but the ambassadors have already moved to another area by the time neighbors see trash reappear.

Baloney, says Frommer. "It's a great job to have if you don't want to do nothin'," she said. "It's just a disaster around here."

Jalosinski said anyone with a similar complaint should call 215-271-1701. He said a survey done this year found that neighborhood satisfaction with the services has increased 40 percent since 2004, the first full year of service.

TIRE MIRE: Remember that giant lot I visited in August on Beach Street near Penn Treaty Park with the mountains of tires? Remember when someone lit the tires on fire Sept. 1?

Well, a fire was started again there about 3 a.m. yesterday.

I called Glasgow Inc., which owns the lot, according to city property records. A receptionist put me on hold twice, then told me to call back before closing time at 5 p.m.

I called back, and was told the representative I should speak with was unavailable.

The Marquis just loves phone games. Now I'm playing one with the Managing Director's Office to figure out what it would take to issue the lot's owners a city code violation and a fine.

Stay tuned.