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NYC to invest $14.5 million to attack dirty streets
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Nov 10, 2022
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Elizabeth Kim/Gothamist
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Nov 10, 2022
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Facing continued complaints of trash-ridden streets, Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced he would direct $14.5 million into what he said would be the city’s largest cleanup effort in decades.
Roughly 1,500 areas citywide have been deemed in severe need of cleanup and city resources under the initiative. The effort also calls for hiring 200 additional sanitation workers and creating a new evening shift within the city parks department, dedicated to rat mitigation efforts and tackling unsanitary “hot spots.”
The mayor's office said the money was being allocated from elsewhere in the expense budget and the changes would be reflected in the November budget modification.
“We have a real financial crisis, too, but a clean city is going to impact our recovery,” Adams said on Thursday during a Brooklyn press conference. “And New Yorkers deserve to have a clean city.”
The announcement comes on the heels of other efforts to address complaints that the city has become filthier and more rat-infested since the pandemic began and as outdoor dining has proliferated.
Last month, the sanitation department introduced a proposal to push back the time New Yorkers were allowed to bring out their trash, in hopes of shortening the period of time in which residents have to contend with the unsightly and smelly mountains of trash that pile up on city sidewalks.
The agency also gave a $4 million contract to the consulting firm McKinsey to study whether the city should adopt the use of container bins.
Adams’ predecessor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, made cuts to the sanitation department during the earliest months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, drawing protest from the agency’s commissioner at the time, Kathryn Garcia. Garcia, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021, cited the cuts to her department in her resignation letter.
De Blasio later restored some of the funding.
Joining Adams on Thursday, Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said complaints of overflowing trash bins had declined to pre-pandemic levels, calling it “a more normal baseline” the administration was seeking to tackle.
But she emphasized that the locations identified for targeted cleanup have long been plagued with sanitation issues — and a lack of resources to combat them.
“To be clear, this isn't a pandemic problem,” Tisch said. “It isn't even a 21st century problem. It's been a crisis in the making for 40 years.”
The initiative announced Thursday will expand the presence of litter baskets around the city, particularly in highly trafficked tourist areas in the coming months. Part of the funding will also go toward a shared effort between the sanitation agency and city Department of Transportation — the regular cleaning of highway entrance and exit ramps — which had been among the initiatives encumbered by budget cuts in 2020.
The city will step up enforcement around illegal dumping through the addition of 200 new cameras citywide, with Tisch calling perpetrators “among the stupidest of criminals.” Those found to be in violation face up to $4,000 in fines and vehicle impounds.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will also receive more than $600,000 this fiscal year, and nearly $1 million the next year, to tackle the city’s pervasive rat problem. The city's Department of Environmental Protection will “accelerate hiring” 50 new staff members dedicated to cleaning and inspecting sewer grates under the new initiative, according to the mayor’s office.
This story has been updated with additional information form City Hall.
Tagged
sanitation
eric adams
trash
rats
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Michelle Bocanegra
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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