Down in the Dumps - Suitcase Rescued After Journey in Depths of City Garbage Truck

M.C. Millman

A visitor from Eretz Yisroel arrived in Boro Park yesterday, only to have one of a traveler's worst fear actualized. 

The man left his suitcase in front of the house he was staying at, near the usual location for the garbage bins. The sanitation workers on the morning shift made their regular stops, picking up the garbage and one precious suitcase. 

The suitcase not only contained the visitor's regular possessions, but it also had his tallis, tefillin, passport, and other documents. 

Upon realizing what happened, Chaveirim and Shomrim were contacted. The organizations immediately got to work tracking down video footage to pinpoint which truck contained the valuable suitcase - while having members at the sanitation depot reviewing which trucks were on the block that day. 

This first task was a challenging one. It took hours to confirm the identity of the truck successfully. 

At that point, Hershy Dembertzer, community askan, called the sanitation department to arrange the next steps, which involved the truck pushing off its usual dumping station time to the following day.  

The following day, Chaverim and Shomrim members met the truck at the dumping station near Williamsburg. The volunteers considered the garbage pickup's timing, allowing them to calculate that the suitcase would be closer to the back of the truck. 

Meticulous planning allowed the volunteers, suited up in PPE  gear, to locate the suitcase in under five minutes. 

Fifteen members of Chaverim of Boro Park and Shomrim of Boro Park jointly assisted with this "suitcase rescue" together with Pinny Ringel, District Leader; Hershy Dembertzer, community askan;  Ari Fleischer, a coordinator from Chaverim, and Shomrim; coordinator Motty Brauner. 

Chaverim would like to extend a special thank you to the New York Sanitation Department for working with them on the retrieval.