Bernadette Fernandez, who lives across the street from the park, is a regular.

“I’m not against it,” Fernandez said of the park. “It’s great for everybody.”

Horton said the decision by the local schools to remove the trash cans is “somewhat hypocritical.” He said he was “disappointed” that they were not consulted.

“They’ve spent their time over the summer talking about this program for some time. It would have been a surprise to me if they had looked at alternatives before going in. They didn’t,” Horton said.

But he added that he didn’t want to be “anti-local” on the issue.

Drew said he supports the trash cans. “I’ve come back home and told my neighbor that, he said, ‘I hope this program runs its course,'” Drew said. “We really don’t need this trash,” he said.

Fernandez said she hopes the program continues.

“We are very happy,” Fernandez said. “We are very happy. If it had ended now, I would have missed my birthday yesterday.”

Beverly Doss, a former neighborhood resident who has lived at 1706 Larchmont Avenue for 27 years, said she and her neighbors are pleased to see the trash cans return.

“I think it’s great that it’s coming back,” Doss said.

“What should have happened was that the neighbors took a look at it and decided that it needed to come back,” she said.

The trash cans remained in limbo for months until their owner, a city contractor named Terry Wilson, finally allowed them to be removed in late May.

Wilson told the Tribune in a May interview that removing the carts had been his decision. He said he bought two of the carts after a previous owner sent him a picture of the trash cans and an email about bringing “diversionary programs” to the area.

City Councilor Mary Pat Clarke agreed that Wilson’s initial decision was “problematic.”

“What we saw today is a waste of taxpayers’ money and a waste of time and effort from city taxpayers,” Clarke said.

But not everyone was in support of the trash cans.

Trying to stay ahead of the increasing trash on Larchmont Avenue, a city councilor — including mayoral challenger Michael Brennan — sent a letter to the