DSNY to Clean Up NYC Streets by Emptying Trash Baskets More Often and Creating “Rat-Proof” Trash Cans
By Yehudit Garmaise
“In a city where there are so many opinions, we're united on one thing: we are a mess and we need to clean up now,” Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi said Monday.
The city is launching massive sanitation projects on July 1 to give New Yorkers “what they deserve: clean streets and clean communities.”
“On June 14, the City Council approved its 2023 fiscal year budget, which included $40.6 million to restore Department of Sanitation (DSNY) staff to pre-pandemic levels to empty street cans 50,000 more times per week than they did previously,” Mayor Eric Adams said today.
The funding is also slated to create a Lot Cleaning Unit that will target vacant lots that become illegal dumping grounds.
“We're going to make sure, with a few little plans we have up our sleeves, we're going to identify those habitual dumpers,” Mayor Adams said. “Trust me, it's a small number of people who believe that they can dump like this and get away with it. And we are going to target them and make it no longer a profitable experience to dump anywhere in our city.
The DSNY also plans to develop “rat-proof” trash baskets that will replace the city’s current mesh baskets, said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch, after installing, in April, padlocked trash cans in Manhattan that were promised to the other four boroughs as well.
While the DSNY will have more funding to clean up NYC streets, Joshi pointed out that keeping the city clean is not just up to sanitation workers.
“We all make trash, so we all have the power to keep it off of our streets,” Joshi said. “That means feed the can, sweep your street, and property owners: for you that means the sidewalk in front of your property, as well as 18 inches out into the street, which is your responsibility to keep clean.”