McAllen Man Claims Discrimination in Brush Pick

by: Frank McCaffrey

Posted: May 23, 2023 / 07:33 PM CDT

Updated: May 23, 2023 / 09:11 PM CDT

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — One McAllen neighborhood has been dealing with mounds of brush on its curbs and alleys.

A resident there tells us he thinks his part of town has been ignored because it is a lower-income area.

South 24th Street in McAllen has recently had a lot of its brush picked up Tuesday. One man who lives in the area says he has been fighting for weeks to get the debris cleaned up.

Leonardo Noyola says he was expecting brush from a series of recent storms to be picked up days ago.

Noyola saw the timeframe on the city website, on the 311 app and when he called to ask.

"They said it was May 15th to the 20th and I still haven't seen a single truck come by," Noyola said.

He says he left a comment on Facebook with the city then was told to contact the recycling center but was not able to get the brush cleared. He feels that it's because this is a lower income part of town.

"It feels like sometimes they take a little but longer in response to come down here to these particular neighborhoods. So I think that they may be trying to kind of get them out of the way or just ignoring them," Noyola explained.

ValleyCentral reached out to the City of McAllen to get their response and see whether they were going to pick up brush and debris from this part of town.

"We do have a temporary brush schedule. That area will be serviced some time at the end of this week. We’re currently working the area from south of 495 to the expressway from Taylor to McColl," Roberto Trevino Jr., the Renewable Resources Manager for City of McAllen said.

The city says it is working on its second sweep, which is curbside and alley. A crew was sent to Noyola's location after we spoke with the city and brush was quickly picked up.

Trevino denies the city would ever view a lower income neighborhood as less of a priority.

"The city would never discriminate based on low income or the financial status of the residents," Trevino said.

Trevino adds McAllen residents can stop by the City of McAllen Recycling Center located on 4101 N. Bentsen Road to drop off debris for free.

McAllen residents who want to drop brush and debris off at the McAllen Recycling Center need proof of residency such as a water bill and ID.