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| In Battle Against Trash and Rats, N.Y.C. Officials Try a Schedule Shift | In Battle Against Trash and Rats, N.Y.C. Officials Try a Schedule Shift |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have had to contend with mountainous sprawls of garbage bags piled curbside as early as 4 p.m., creating a rancid eyesore that assaults the senses and sensibility of all who pass. | For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have had to contend with mountainous sprawls of garbage bags piled curbside as early as 4 p.m., creating a rancid eyesore that assaults the senses and sensibility of all who pass. |
| Except, of course, the rats, which embed themselves in the trash, often emerging at the least opportune times for unsuspecting passers-by. | Except, of course, the rats, which embed themselves in the trash, often emerging at the least opportune times for unsuspecting passers-by. |
| With both trash and rat complaints on the rise and concerns that the city is looking filthier than it has in decades, sanitation officials have come up with a potential solution they hope will help clean up the streets. | |
| Under a proposed rule announced on Monday by Mayor Eric Adams, residential and commercial trash will not be allowed on the curb before 8 p.m. It still must be placed curbside by midnight, as current rules dictate. | |
| If a bin with a rat-resistant lid is used, residents can put out their garbage two hours earlier, and commercial trash that uses those bins can be placed for collection one hour before business closes. | If a bin with a rat-resistant lid is used, residents can put out their garbage two hours earlier, and commercial trash that uses those bins can be placed for collection one hour before business closes. |
| The current 4 p.m. start time — among the earliest trash disposal times for major cities around the world — means that refuse can sit on the pavement for 14 hours before a sanitation truck rumbles along to haul it away. | The current 4 p.m. start time — among the earliest trash disposal times for major cities around the world — means that refuse can sit on the pavement for 14 hours before a sanitation truck rumbles along to haul it away. |
| “The black bags serve as an all-you-can-eat buffet for rats,” Jessica Tisch, the sanitation commissioner, said in an interview. “If the bags are sitting out there for 14 hours, that is a long buffet, and we want to shut it down.” | “The black bags serve as an all-you-can-eat buffet for rats,” Jessica Tisch, the sanitation commissioner, said in an interview. “If the bags are sitting out there for 14 hours, that is a long buffet, and we want to shut it down.” |
| The change is part of an overall strategy by Mayor Adams and the City Council to address increasing concerns from residents and businesses over the cleanliness of city streets. According to the Mayor’s Management Report, which covers the first six months of Mr. Adams’s term, the number of streets rated acceptably clean declined by 4 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. Calls to 311 about rodent sightings and trash on sidewalks have also increased. | The change is part of an overall strategy by Mayor Adams and the City Council to address increasing concerns from residents and businesses over the cleanliness of city streets. According to the Mayor’s Management Report, which covers the first six months of Mr. Adams’s term, the number of streets rated acceptably clean declined by 4 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. Calls to 311 about rodent sightings and trash on sidewalks have also increased. |
| “Rat sightings are through the roof. During recess, they’re scaring our children,” said Shaun Abreu, a councilman from Upper Manhattan who is sponsoring legislation to help enact the rules. | “Rat sightings are through the roof. During recess, they’re scaring our children,” said Shaun Abreu, a councilman from Upper Manhattan who is sponsoring legislation to help enact the rules. |
| The proposed rules, which are scheduled for a public hearing in November and would take effect in April, come after negotiations with the Real Estate Board of New York, building workers represented by 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union and the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, among others. | The proposed rules, which are scheduled for a public hearing in November and would take effect in April, come after negotiations with the Real Estate Board of New York, building workers represented by 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union and the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, among others. |
| The city has also created a new early-morning program that would allow residential buildings with nine or more units to place trash at the curb for three hours starting at 4 a.m. for a 7 a.m. pickup. | |
| Ms. Tisch acknowledged the increase in dirty streets and rat sightings and blamed cuts to the city’s sanitation budget during the pandemic. Mr. Adams and the City Council have allocated $22 million in the budget to empty litter baskets more often and have restored street-sweeper cleaning to prepandemic levels. | Ms. Tisch acknowledged the increase in dirty streets and rat sightings and blamed cuts to the city’s sanitation budget during the pandemic. Mr. Adams and the City Council have allocated $22 million in the budget to empty litter baskets more often and have restored street-sweeper cleaning to prepandemic levels. |
| The city also launched a boroughwide organics composting effort in Queens to help reduce the 12,000 tons of trash and recycling sanitation workers remove daily from city streets. | The city also launched a boroughwide organics composting effort in Queens to help reduce the 12,000 tons of trash and recycling sanitation workers remove daily from city streets. |
| In September, the city began collecting garbage over three-day holiday weekends to prevent it from piling up. And overnight collections were increased, with 2,500 tons of trash now collected during overnight hours. | In September, the city began collecting garbage over three-day holiday weekends to prevent it from piling up. And overnight collections were increased, with 2,500 tons of trash now collected during overnight hours. |
| Ms. Tisch said the combination of changes could cut the time trash sits on the streets to as little as four hours in some cases. | |
| “This would reduce the amount of time the trash is on the street before collection, keeping our streets cleaner for a longer period of time, and discouraging rodents from running their own version of what we like to say, open restaurants,” Mr. Adams said at a news conference at City Hall Monday afternoon where he emphasized his well-documented dislike of rodents. “No more tripping over black bags during the rush hour. No more watching these bags litter our sidewalks earlier in the day.” | |
| The impact of trash that is placed out early in the evening is visible in neighborhoods like the West Village where narrow sidewalks, dining sheds and a proliferation of rats have combined to frustrate residents and businesses. | The impact of trash that is placed out early in the evening is visible in neighborhoods like the West Village where narrow sidewalks, dining sheds and a proliferation of rats have combined to frustrate residents and businesses. |
| On Friday evening, piles of recycling were stuffed into the flower bed of a tree on Downing Street, and pedestrians stepped off the curb to avoid the piles of garbage. On Bedford Street, a pile of trash and recycling consumed a parking space outside of a spa. Area maintenance workers continued to dump fresh bags of garbage until the pile was taller than nearby cars. | On Friday evening, piles of recycling were stuffed into the flower bed of a tree on Downing Street, and pedestrians stepped off the curb to avoid the piles of garbage. On Bedford Street, a pile of trash and recycling consumed a parking space outside of a spa. Area maintenance workers continued to dump fresh bags of garbage until the pile was taller than nearby cars. |
| Jessica Corsino, 34, a nurse at the spa, said it was unusual to see a trash pile that large outside the shop. She said that an earlier pickup would help in places like the West Village, but that her former home in the Norwood section of the Bronx needed a more comprehensive solution. | Jessica Corsino, 34, a nurse at the spa, said it was unusual to see a trash pile that large outside the shop. She said that an earlier pickup would help in places like the West Village, but that her former home in the Norwood section of the Bronx needed a more comprehensive solution. |
| “We need to focus on the other boroughs because there are way worse issues,” Ms. Corsino said. | “We need to focus on the other boroughs because there are way worse issues,” Ms. Corsino said. |
| At Spunto, a restaurant on Carmine Street, a pile of trash from nearby residential buildings sat in the roadway next to the restaurant’s outdoor dining shed, just inches from where patrons were eating. | At Spunto, a restaurant on Carmine Street, a pile of trash from nearby residential buildings sat in the roadway next to the restaurant’s outdoor dining shed, just inches from where patrons were eating. |
| Elisabeth Jeffrey, 31, a server, said vehicles often run over the trash bags, making them easier for rodents to access. An ideal time for trash placement would be after midnight, she added. | Elisabeth Jeffrey, 31, a server, said vehicles often run over the trash bags, making them easier for rodents to access. An ideal time for trash placement would be after midnight, she added. |
| “Customers complain because it smells like trash and rodents are running around,” said Ms. Jeffrey, who was skeptical that the new plan would help. “Sometimes I try to move people inside, but sometimes they just leave.” | “Customers complain because it smells like trash and rodents are running around,” said Ms. Jeffrey, who was skeptical that the new plan would help. “Sometimes I try to move people inside, but sometimes they just leave.” |
| Sanitation officials believe New Yorkers have been depositing their trash on the curb in bags starting at 4 p.m. since around 1971 when the city stopped requiring the use of metal trash cans. Officials are unsure of why 4 p.m. was chosen, but New York has become an outlier among major cities for how early it allows trash to be placed for pickup. | Sanitation officials believe New Yorkers have been depositing their trash on the curb in bags starting at 4 p.m. since around 1971 when the city stopped requiring the use of metal trash cans. Officials are unsure of why 4 p.m. was chosen, but New York has become an outlier among major cities for how early it allows trash to be placed for pickup. |
| According to a survey by the Sanitation Department, Toronto, San Francisco and St. Louis all allow trash to be put out at 6 p.m. or later. In Barcelona, Spain, trash is placed out after 8 p.m. and in Buenos Aires, residents can put trash out at 7 p.m. New York is one of the few major cities in the country that does not require trash to be set out in receptacles. The city recently launched a study on trash containerization that should be completed in a few months. | |
| As the city experiments with containerization, expands organics collection and how commercial waste is removed, an interim step is needed, said Sandy Nurse, a councilwoman from Brooklyn who is chairwoman of the sanitation committee. | As the city experiments with containerization, expands organics collection and how commercial waste is removed, an interim step is needed, said Sandy Nurse, a councilwoman from Brooklyn who is chairwoman of the sanitation committee. |
| “We’re the only major city in the country that manages our residential trash in the way that we do,” Ms. Nurse said. “We have bags filled with food that sit out all night and well into the morning that are ripped open by rats. It doesn’t make any sense.” | “We’re the only major city in the country that manages our residential trash in the way that we do,” Ms. Nurse said. “We have bags filled with food that sit out all night and well into the morning that are ripped open by rats. It doesn’t make any sense.” |