NYC sanitation supervisor digs deep to find accidentally discarded family photos

THROGGS NECK, The Bronx (WABC) – Patricia Turco has every photo engraved in her brain and memorized – 125 years of family history contained in five albums.

Turco kept the albums in his apartment in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. After the apartment was damaged by Hurricane Ida, she moved in with her niece. On Saturday, his niece’s stepson accidentally threw them in the trash. There were no copies, backups or hard drives of the photos.

“I was angry, extremely upset, I was crying hysterically. And the first thing I did was call the Sanitation Department, and the Sanitation Department couldn’t have been nicer, ”Turco said.

Sanitation located the truck within 10 minutes and locked it. Her friend Johnny Rodriguez and sanitation supervisor Edward Clavelo dug in the trash.

“I mean, it was a disgusting moment, you know what I mean? You smell all that nasty bacteria and stuff, but at least she accomplished what she wanted to accomplish. She left with a smile.” , said Rodriguez. .

“The department has a pretty good success rate – mine is around 60, 70%,” said Clavelo, “If it’s in that truck and we go through every bag, we’ll find it.”

Clavelo says he spent the longest time in the trash collecting priceless items – three hours.

Turco’s albums were found within 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes in a smelly garbage heap – for over a century of family history.

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