Adopted Rule Relating to the Use of Certain Receptacles by Food-Related Businesses

Online comments: 102

• James Romanelli

  Can the rule be extended for all commercial bussinesses, regardless of if they are related to food, put their trash in receptacles. It should also be added that receptacles are removed from the street or sidewalk by 8am the next morning.

  Comment added May 18, 2023 3:12pm

• Matthew Suozzo

  Just make sure it costs as little to businesses as possible, are low enough that they won’t tip over, and have reflectors so when they inevitably get pushed into bike lanes people won’t get hurt.

  Comment added May 18, 2023 3:44pm

• Joseph Ghezzi

  Dear city officials. One of the most effective measure you should be considering in the never ending battle against rodent infested streets is removing the rat motels (outdoor dining structures) that provide ideal harborage conditions for the rodents. All these other measures, later put out times for garbage, this proposal, are like trying to plug a dam fissure with a finger. The massive increase in observed rat population correlates almost perfectly with the erection of the structures. They served their purpose during the pandemic. Their time is gone. Every time I’ve witnessed one of these structures demolished a little colony of rats has scurried away from them. Wake up. Get rid of their habitats and you might get s handle on the issue.

  Comment added May 18, 2023 9:50pm

• Joseph Ghezzi

  One of the most effective measure you should be considering in the never ending battle against rodent infested streets is removing the rat motels (outdoor dining structures) that provide ideal harborage conditions for the rodents. All these other measures, later put out times for garbage, this proposal, are like trying to plug a dam fissure with a finger. The massive increase in observed rat population correlates almost perfectly with the erection of the structures. They served their purpose during the pandemic. Their time is gone. Every time I’ve witnessed one of these structures demolished a little colony of rats has scurried away from them. Wake up. Get rid of their habitats and you might get a handle on the issue.

  Comment added May 18, 2023 9:52pm

• Alice S

  The new rules will be a logistical nightmare for most businesses as there is no place to store numerous containers inside. Allowing these disgusting dumpsters to be in front within 3 feet of the restaurant is a ridiculous idea. They will be blocking sidewalks get sprayed with graffiti and they will smell. There is no way that these will be kept clean as pedestrians will start dumping garbage into these containers making a mess for many small businesses. Many small restaurants have just 15-20 feet of frontage in my neighborhood and some blocks have 3 or 4 restaurants or food establishments. How will all these containers fit on sidewalks? We don’t have a rat problem in Bay Ridge. Some restaurants owners I know already tried a wheeled container with a lid and it became a rat motel. The rats can get into containers and it’s not going to solve the rat issue. Time Square did a pilot with containers for their trash cans and it didn’t go well. Why does the city continue to push a one size fits all for a problem that is largely confined to high density areas like Manhattan and some neighborhoods in the outer boroughs?

  Comment added May 18, 2023 10:07pm

• Johncaro

  It’s a good idea for businesses in stores to use trashcan for the garbage call Rob population it’s impossible to live. What is rats and they’re danger

  Comment added May 19, 2023 1:17am

• Teresa Solomita

  I live in Prospect Heights and cannot walk without seeing rats, dead or alive, especially on the evenings that restaurants and food establishments put out their trash in overloaded garbage bags. Please enact this new ruling for the safety and well being of our community.

  Comment added May 19, 2023 7:33am

• Brian Rifkin

  This rule is so eminently sensible. I support it 100%. It’s in fact outrageous that NYC is still in the position of putting trash bags filled with food on the street curb. Please implement this as soon as possible, and then continue toward real containerization infrastructure across the city at the expense of a small fraction of free parking spots.

  Comment added May 19, 2023 8:40am

• Julie Lang

  I live in Boerum Hill Brooklyn and cannot walk without seeing rats, dead or alive, especially on the evenings that restaurants and food establishments put out their trash in overloaded garbage bags. Please enact this new ruling for the safety and well being of our community.

  Comment added May 19, 2023 8:53am

• Rocco Rella

  Now this regulation make sense!! I often see torn garbage bags placed next to outdoor eating sheds, rats don’t need to go that far for food. Enacted immediately.

  Comment added May 19, 2023 5:00pm

• Frances Dirks

  I live in _Carroll Gardens Brooklyn and cannot walk without seeing rats, dead or alive, especially on the evenings that restaurants and food establishments put out their trash in overloaded garbage bags. Please enact this new ruling for the safety and well being of our community.

  Comment added May 19, 2023 5:02pm

• Heather Hamilton

  I strongly support this new rule. This is a very important and much needed change to help deal with disturbing and unhealthy rat population explosion in our neighborhood. Trash needs to be contained. Thank you for your help!

  Comment added May 22, 2023 12:00pm

• Jason Dumelie

  There isn’t enough space on sidewalks for restaurants to put more garbage there. These are heavily used spaces and restricting them makes it even more difficult for people with challenges walking.

  On the other hand, parking is socially harmful. If DSNY is allowing restaurants to put their garbage out, it should specifically be in parking spaces, not on the sidewalk.

  Comment added May 25, 2023 5:11pm

• James L

  The proposed rules sound terrible for restaurants in NYC. First off aesthetically, having trash cans all over the place is going to look ridiculous. Secondly, there is no place to store them inside. Most of us are on leased space with only so much room. Having to store and move trash cans inside and out is a logistical nightmare and puts an unfair burden on hard working business owners in the restaurant industry. Lastly, the cost of doing this is going to be significant. Restaurants are already struggling after COVID, so to add this cost would be punitive to an industry that is still trying to make up for years of lost revenue that hasn’t even returned. I would STRONGLY discourage the city from passing this. You’re just hurting the industry if you pass it.

  Comment added May 25, 2023 5:57pm

• Erick C

  This idea is just as terrible as changing the put out times . People create trash and with more people there is more trash, what needs to be done is opposite of all of these ideas. Remove or stop setting up city bikes. Also no to putting trash cans in cars places and doing away with trash bags how will buildings with compactors like high rises get their trash out???? You seem to be fixated on rats but forgetting that rats are still finding food and all that is being done is making more space for restaurants trash now . So why we’re overall put out trash times changed if restaurants can put their trash out all day?? We changed the menu for the rats is what this now does ??? So now we go from building trash to definite food waste which is what the rats want??????? Please make this make sense

  Comment added May 25, 2023 8:08pm

• Erick

  Dear city officials. One of the most effective measure you should be considering in the never ending battle against rodent infested streets is removing the rat motels (outdoor dining structures) that provide ideal harborage conditions for the rodents. All these other measures, later put out times for garbage, this proposal, are like trying to plug a dam fissure with a finger. The massive increase in observed rat population correlates almost perfectly with the erection of the structures. They served their purpose during the pandemic. Their time is gone. Every time I’ve witnessed one of these structures demolished a little colony of rats has scurried away from them. Wake up. Get rid of their habitats and you might get s handle on the issue.

  Comment added May 25, 2023 8:14pm

• Carol Morrison

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids.

  I lead the Prospect Heights Rodent Task Force—initially created to address the gross rat infestation on Lincoln Place between Underhill and Washington. After our group’s first meeting we realized there was a significant problem throughout 11238. And then the NYC RAT PORTAL https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/rats.page corroborated our lived experience. Prospect Heights  (11238) has the dubious distinction of having the most 311 calls for rodents. (The most infested section of our zipcode —from Eastern Parkway to Park Place between Washington AVe and Underhill)—is overrun by rodents.
  11238 today, post-pandemic has an overwhelming rat problem of epic proportions—with stories to match.

  In 11238, there are rats found in car engines year-round, burrows throughout our precious street tree pits, infestations in local restaurant basements, in abandoned cars, rats running across people wearing flip-flops, and unchecked rat colonies growing under outdoor food huts and parks.Anyone reading this welcome to join me on a night walkthrough on Lincoln Place or the (grossest of the gross) St Johns Place between Underhill and Washington to find real-time corroborating evidence of the infestation.

  We realize that NYC has no comprehensive strategic plan with regard to rodent control—so no one agency can (or does) take responsibility—but be clear NYC is still facing this epidemic without a meaningful strategy and that must change. Hopefully Kathleen Corradi, the city’s citywide director of rodent mitigation and the formidable Carolyn Bragdon, Director of Neighborhood Interventions, Bureau of Veterinary & Pest Control Services Division of Environmental Health, New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene along with the leadership of Department of Sanitation, Commissioner Jessica Tisch will develop an coordinated interagency strategic plan. (Let’s think global warming and rats reproducing 12 months a year to inspire some enthusiasm for a coordinated interagency strategic plan)

  However, as developers continue to ravage our city infrastructure and restaurant outdoor eateries leave a 24 hour smorgasbord for rats (I am pro-restaurants just anti-rats) , one helpful policy addition would be that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.  

  I am in full support of this measure.

  Carol Morrison
  Prospect T Heights rat Task Force
  11238

  Comment added May 27, 2023 1:15pm

• Judith Anne Pruden

  voting for waste pick up..

  Comment added May 27, 2023 7:59pm

• Carey Tan

  I am writing in support of a proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any organic waste at the curb in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and I believe that this simple rule change would make a big difference in my neighborhood’s rat problem. We all know that rats’ easy access to organic waste is the #1 contributor to their out-of-control population growth, so it makes total sense that food waste should be kept in sealed containers, where the rats can’t access it. In fact, I believe that residential organic waste should likewise be kept in rat-proof containers, so I’m eagerly awaiting the rollout of a citywide trash containerization plan. In the meantime, I believe that this rule change pertaining to food-related businesses will make a noticeable improvement in our city’s rat problem.

  Comment added May 28, 2023 9:46am

• Jesse Hendrich

  We are overrun by rodents.

  I am writing as a resident of Prospect Heights, and a member of S.C.R.A.M. (Sterling’s Committee for Rat Awareness & Mitigation). I support the proposed change in DSNY rules: that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. In the anti-rodent activist work of S.C.R.A.M., we have found that the single-most effective method of reducing the rat population is to eliminate bags of garbage with food waste on our streets. S.C.R.A.M. agrees that businesses that produce food waste should be required to place their putrescible waste in sealed containers and thus limit potential food sources for vermin. In addition to this important rule change, we hope further that the City considers eliminating the floors of any outdoor dining shed, which provide food scraps and harborage for out-of-control rat infestations.

  Comment added May 28, 2023 10:54am

• Teresa

  See my attached document. This illustrates the reason we need containerized trash in NYC.

  This is obviously one solution to a problem that requires a systemic approach. Let’s at least get this done.

  Comment attachment
  Proposed-rules-comment.docx

  Comment added May 28, 2023 4:00pm

• Suzette Sundae

  For the love of God it’s about damned time!

  Comment added May 29, 2023 9:56am

• Liza F Kuritsky

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and have multiple restaurants near my home. Walking home after dark, the only way to avoid a rat encounter while walking past the restaurants when garbage is out is to literally walk in the street to avoid them. Obviously not a desirable option as that leads to other types of real risk of injury. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 29, 2023 7:45pm

• Kate Huyett

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and rats are a major issue in our neighborhood. I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 29, 2023 7:56pm

• Bryce Covert

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and our rat infestation levels are like nothing I’ve ever seen in my two decades of living in New York City. The only effective and sensible way to fight the problem is to put garbage in rigid containers with lids. This also has another important benefit: clearing sidewalks for pedestrians, especially those with wheelchairs and strollers, and making our city cleaner and less smelly when we don’t have rotting piles of garbage bags strewn all over our sidewalks and streets.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 8:27am

• Megan Hertzig-Sharon

  I am writing as a resident of Prospect Heights, and as a member of S.C.R.A.M. (Sterling’s Committee for Rat Awareness & Mitigation). I support the proposed change in DSNY rules: that all food-related businesses must set out food waste at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. In the anti-rodent activist work of S.C.R.A.M., we have found that the single-most effective method of reducing the rat population is to eliminate bags of garbage with food waste on our streets. S.C.R.A.M. agrees that businesses that produce food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers and thus limit potential food sources for vermin. If the restaurant or business can’t fit all their waste in closed containers, they need to use additional containers not pile the bags on top of their container. Thank You

  Comment added May 30, 2023 8:34am

• jillian steadman

  Hello,
  I am a member of SCRAM, we are overrun by rodents, we support this sanitation rule change! Our block in prospect heights was horrible and we have seen real change since asking neighbors to use cans! I would love to feel at ease again while walking in the evening!! Please!
  Thank you
  Jillian Steadman(member of SCRAM)

  Comment added May 30, 2023 9:12am

• Kamy Wicoff

  As a member of my block association’s rat prevention committee, I can attest that NOTHING is as effective in reducing the rat population than eliminating their food source. We have worked hard to educate and support our neighbors and have seen big improvements from getting more residents to use cans with tight-fitting lids, but without support from the city and guidelines (and consequences) for the biggest producers of food waste—restaurants—we have absolutely no hope of turning this issue around. Please add your authority and your leadership to our grass roots efforts and pass, and enforce, this rule! It also seems that the city has the duty to pitch in to help make this affordable and doable for restaurants.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 10:29am

• Zachary Halbrecht

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and rats ate my car’s engine wiring last summer! A costly and inconvenient repair. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 10:35am

• Art Chang

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and.. [insert story about rats, and perhaps the role of restaurant garbage or copy and paste my testimony highlighted below]. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 10:41am

• Ellen Edelman

  I am a member of our block association’s rodent mitigation committee (SCRAM). We are overrun by rodents. Individual home owners on our block are making efforts to eliminate rats, such as having trash cans with lids, but we get little support from local businesses (landlords and restaurants especially). We need the City to back us up. That is why I strongly support this sanitation rule change!

  Comment added May 30, 2023 11:45am

• Mary Shuford

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I have been a resident of Prospect Heights for over 50 years. Prior to 2020, I had NEVER seen rats running in our streets or, worse yet, in our backyard gardens. Since then, increasingly we not only see evidence of rats in our backyards (and sometimes the rats themselves), but there is no time when I walk the streets that I do not see at least 1 rat scurrying along the sidewalk or from the curb into buildings.

  Our block association on Sterling Place between Washington and Underhill Avenues has established protocols for enclosing all household garbage in rat-proof garbage cans with lids, both when it is alongside our buildings and when we put it out for collection. We also have alerted our neighbors to be on the lookout for rats nesting in their tree beds, planters, or under their stoops. When evidence is discovered, efforts are made to disrupt the burrows. We have had some success in reducing the rat population on our block, but the fact that restaurants, stores, and other businesses on the cross streets do not contain their garbage erodes our efforts to control our rat population.

  For these reasons, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Thank you for your consideration.

  Mary Shuford

  Comment added May 30, 2023 12:49pm

• Michela Galante

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and rats are a huge problem in my neighborhood. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 1:17pm

• Kate Caldwell

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and I support the tremendous work being done by my neighbors to reduce the infestation of rats that we have by reducing rat access to edible waste further and further. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 1:33pm

• Lucas Hendrich

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Brooklyn . And so, I agree that a business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 2:14pm

• Daniel Evans

  Dear city officials – as a long-time city resident, in the late evenings I have often had to navigate the sidewalk between a restaurant and it’s pile of bagged waste, and am used to having to steel myself to the almost inevitable rat confrontation that ensues. Sometimes you just hear the rat(s), sometimes you see them frolicking on the pile, sometimes they get spooked and come out like a wave right at you. Requiring commercial locations to dispose of food waste in a way that will limit such waste from becoming a rodent food source is a net win for the public and public health.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 2:30pm

• Roy Abir

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and see how rats “took controls” of the neighborhood especially during the evening and nights. This also affect the cleaning less of the neighborhood as garbage bags are open after a night of rats’ feast and sidewalks are full of organic waste. And so, I agree that a business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 2:49pm

• Tara Prout

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and in 11238, there are rats found in car engines year-round, burrows throughout our street tree pits, infestations in local restaurant basements, in abandoned cars, rats running across people wearing flip-flops, and unchecked rat colonies growing under outdoor food huts and parks. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 4:05pm

• Scott Dvorin

  We have an overwhelming rat problem in Prospect Heights and throughout the rest of the city. I strongly believe limiting their access to food from restaurant garbage left in bags on the street will go a long way to alleviating the issue. Let’s close the all-they-can-eat buffet for rats outside of restaurants.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 4:24pm

• Ben

  Dear city officials. One of the most effective measure you should be considering in the never ending battle against rodent infested streets is removing the rat motels (outdoor dining structures) that provide ideal harborage conditions for the rodents. All these other measures, later put out times for garbage, this proposal, are like trying to plug a dam fissure with a finger. The massive increase in observed rat population correlates almost perfectly with the erection of the structures. They served their purpose during the pandemic. Their time is gone. Every time I’ve witnessed one of these structures demolished a little colony of rats has scurried away from them. Wake up. Get rid of their habitats and you might get s handle on the issue.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 7:43pm

• Christine Blackburn

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Fort Greene for over a decade and I have experienced a terrifying and unsafe level of increase in the rat population . The dining sheds on our street are full of living and dead rats and I’ve paid over $5000 just to mitigate burrows on my property which were caused by the rats eating restaurant food waste . Rats run over my kids feet as we try to enter our home on a regular basis.And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 30, 2023 9:01pm

• John S

  The proposed rule puts undue burden on restaurant owners who are still struggling after the pandemic. Firstly, the rule will mandate owners to pay out of pocket for these costly bins. Many restaurants put out dozens of garbage bags and will require a dozen garbage bins. Will the city reimburse them for these costs? Secondly, where will owners store these bins when not in use? There is absolutely no space or backdoor alleys for storing these bins. The bins, in the dozens, will remain on the sidewalk and be an eyesore for the business front. They will no doubt be a target of theft and vandalism. This proposed rule, in addition to the recent rule change to put out garbage later, puts great undue burden on business owners still struggling post-pandemic. I do not support this proposal and urge officials to look at alternative methods.

  Comment added May 31, 2023 10:45am

• Maya Lundhagen

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and know that as much as residents try to eliminate food sources for rats, we’ll continue to have a significant rodent problem unless businesses do the same. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added May 31, 2023 12:06pm

• Anthony Verde

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Carroll Gardens . And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added June 1, 2023 10:05am

• kathryn glass

  I’m writing to support the proposed DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I live in Prospect Heights, where the rat population has exploded since outdoor eateries have been up and down Vanderbilt Avenue. Please, please help our neighborhood curtail the rat population; small businesses have a manifest interest in protection the communities they serve and profit from. Kathryn Glass

  Comment added June 1, 2023 1:52pm

• Michelle French

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I have resided in Prospect Heights for more than 20 years, and the rats have become increasingly present in streets, gardens, alleys, basements, sidewalks, car engines, etc. We have put in a lot of effort to rat-proof our building as have many of our neighbors, but these efforts are almost futile as long as the restaurants on nearby Washington Ave and Vanderbilt Ave continue to provide ample food for rats by leaving garbage in bags on the sidewalk. I have many rat sightings and stories, from just this year, including seeing own block’s version of “pizza rat” transporting a giant slice of pizza across the front of several apartment buildings, and sitting inside a Prospect Heights restaurant by the window and seeing multiple rats animating (digging around inside) the restaurant’s garbage bags right outside the window – very unappetizing. I agree that a business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in vermin-proof containers to put an end to the rat buffets.

  Comment added June 1, 2023 7:43pm

• Erin Kelly

  I live in Gowanus and cannot walk without seeing rats, dead or alive, especially on the evenings that restaurants and food establishments put out their trash in overloaded garbage bags. Please enact this new ruling for the safety and well being of our community.

  Comment added June 2, 2023 6:17pm

• Pete Simon

  Put a lid on it!

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and am sick of seeing the more concentrated rat activity around less-than-good-neighbor restaurants nearby. And so, I agree that a business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added June 3, 2023 9:27am

• Anurag Heda

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and there are rats all over the place hurting our local businesses. And so, I agree that a business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added June 5, 2023 9:52am

• Brooklyn Property Manager

  We support DSNY’s proposed containerization rule. As Brooklyn Property Managers for the past 19 years (http://BrownstoneMgt.com), we have mitigated rat conditions for many property owners. Containerization is a logical and guaranteed way to keep rats away from food waste, assuming the containers are indeed rat- proof. Plastic garbage cans, and cans that can rot and develop holes are not appropriate for stopping rats in our opinion as these pernicious rodents can chew thru most materials, but not thick aluminum. We recommend a rust-proof all-aluminum container like https://BrownstoneBin.com/

  Comment attachment
  rat-proof-container.pdf

  Comment added June 5, 2023 11:59am

• Kate Foster

  This will be impossible for small food businesses as mine. We have no room to store additional trash receptacles when not in use outside. This will also invite people to toss their garbage into these receptacles, making more messy work for us to clean up.

  If the city wants to mandate the use of receptacles, they should be provided and maintained by the city. The proposed law as it stands would create a hardship for small food businesses with limited space indoors and on our sidewalks.

  Comment added June 7, 2023 4:39pm

• Av

  Hi,

  Although, I love the initiative and the goal behind this proposal but how do you protect Small Business owners such as myself from theft or damage of these containers that we will have to leave out on the street overnight? Not to mention the small sidewalks that most businesses are sitting in front of.

  Comment added June 8, 2023 11:58am

• Bill Keays

  Please pass this long overdue rule to make our City a better place to live for everyone. Aside from the obvious, that large piles of trash outside of restaurants attract rat colonies, the trash is unsightly, stinky and a presents the City in the poorest possible light to both residents and visitors. Would you want to live in or visit an apartment with stinky, smelly trash (and potentially roaches or other vermin) piled up in a corner of the apartment? Of course not! So why should any citizen (or visitor) tolerate such conditions while walking down the streets of our great City? Aside from the benefits of removing the sight and smell of this trash (largely composed of food waste), from public view; it will have the the highly desirable outcome of reducing the current rat infestation of our City, which we can all agree, has gotten way out of control. Therefore I strongly urge you to support this rule change by the Department of Sanitation. Please show you are committed to making tNew York City a better place to live and visit for everyone.

  Comment added June 9, 2023 9:54am

• c m

  During the day, I’ve seen rats run from outdoor sheds to hide behind storefront signs, climbing up wires to get to those sanctuaries.
  I’ve seen rats running down streets and crossing large avenues.
  I’ve seen rats running into the basement of my building [partly because the rats are feasting on trash at nearby restaurants and the many outdoor sheds, partly because people open up garbage bags looking for whatever and partly because they have access into the building and the management doesn’t keep our basement trash containers secure]. This is a multi-pronged issue that requires both business and residences and government to get involved and to ENFORCE ANY REGULATIONS THEY ADMINISTER.

  Comment added June 14, 2023 10:38am

• Kate Gardner

  I am writing in support of proposed change in DSNY rules that all food-related businesses must set out any putrescible solid waste, including refuse and organic waste, at the curb for private carter collection in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids. I am a resident of Prospect Heights and.. [insert story about rats, and perhaps the role of restaurant garbage or copy and paste my testimony highlighted below]. And so, I agree that any business that produces food waste should be required to place their waste in sealed containers to limit potential food sources for vermin.

  Comment added June 15, 2023 9:24pm

• Raquel Smith

  Public space is crucial to public health and putting trash in bins, and containerizing it in general, is a concrete way to mitigate New York’s rodent population. Safe and healthy public space looks like swept streets and sidewalks, free from rats, and having trash in bins. This proposed rule helps achieve this vision.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 5:27am

• D J

  I live in Brooklyn, a few doors down from a deli that closes at 5pm. Most days, the deli leaves a small mountain of trash in bags that spill open, attracting rats throughout the evening. Though I have notified DSNY of the problem, the deli is entitled, legally, to leave their trash for a commercial trash collector, which damages the quality of life for the other residents of the block. Stricter rules are necessary. No other city in America approaches its trash collection in this way. I support these rule changes — and ongoing efforts to containerize residential trash, which also contributes to the problem — wholeheartedly.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 11:55am

• VIJAY GHEI

  We are writing to express our vehement opposition to the proposed containerized garbage disposal bins in New York City. We believe that these bins would have a number of disastrous consequences, including:

  Massive loss of parking spaces: The bins would require a colossal amount of street space, which would lead to the loss of thousands of parking spaces in many neighborhoods. This would be catastrophic in densely populated areas, where parking is already scarce.
  Severe traffic congestion: The bins would also lead to severe traffic congestion, as trucks would need to access the bins more frequently to collect the garbage. This would make it impossible for people to get around, and would also significantly contribute to air pollution.
  A breeding ground for rodents and pests: The bins would provide a fertile breeding ground for rodents and other pests, which would pose a serious health hazard to residents. This is especially concerning in light of the city’s ongoing rat problem.
  An eyesore and a fire hazard: The bins would be hideous and would severely degrade the city’s aesthetic. They would also be a serious fire hazard, as they would be difficult to access in the event of a fire.

  We humbly request that you protect the already struggling fast food businesses from going out of business. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were the ones who fed the majority of the city’s population. We even donated food to first responders. Now, the city is repaying us with heavy fees and penalties. These fees and penalties have been levied on our businesses through various channels, such as increased city parking fees, FDNY license fees, DOB fees, Fair Workweek penalties and fines, and now this new proposed regulation.

  We all want a clean city, and we love the idea of containerized garbage. However, we believe that this new regulation will put an undue burden on fast food businesses. These businesses are already struggling to make ends meet, and this new regulation will only make things worse.

  We urge you to reconsider this regulation and find a way to protect fast food businesses while still keeping the city clean. We believe that there is a way to do both, and we are willing to work with you to find a solution.

  Thank you for your time and consideration.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 12:24pm

• Scott Fitzgerald

  I think curbside bins for restaurants would be a massive boon for the city on multiple levels, but they will only be effective if they do not impede pedestrian traffic. On my block in Brooklyn, there’s already precious little space for people on foot to navigate the jumble of fences, motor bikes parked on the sidewalk, and trees. Please don’t replace one issue with another.

  Cleaning up our trash and reducing the access rodents and vermin have to our waste is an amazing thing, but it belongs on the curb in the street — not on the sidewalk. Emptying these bins over or around parked cars is. recipe for disaster. Trash placed in the curb lane are the best use of public space for this endeavor.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 3:44pm

• Johnathan Garrison

  Please don’t place them on sidewalks. Make them permanent and take parking spots instead. Most New Yorkers do not drive or own cars.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 5:18pm

• Jessica Caron

  To whom it may concern,

  We are Diverse Recycling Solutions, LLC, a licensed waste hauling brokerage and recycling consulting firm. Our clients are a range of businesses of varying size across the five boroughs seeking to improve their recycling efforts, exceed all local, state and federal recycling regulations while receiving the most efficient service available in the market. While we welcome initiatives to improve New York City’s waste management system and control rats, this proposed rule would place an undue burden on businesses and should not be enacted as designed.

  Current trash hauling trucks on the market, which are providing service on a daily basis in New York City, are faced with challenges due to the lack of space on city streets, which means that trash bags will have to be fully removed from receptacles manually by workers, which in turn will lead to receptacles not being completely emptied which will further attract, not repel, rats.

  Also, the rule states that businesses lacking sufficient space to store receptacles elsewhere may store them on the sidewalk within three feet of the business’s property line as long as the receptacles do not impede pedestrian flow on the sidewalk, but this cannot work for all businesses. No thought is given to situations where businesses have nowhere to store receptacles other than the sidewalk but there is not enough room on the sidewalk to store receptacles without impeding pedestrian flow. Many of the city’s older, narrower streets will become impassable, and bin sheds are not viable in these areas, especially with the addition of CitiBikes and bicycle lanes. These businesses have no way to obey the law, and these crowded streets pose a hazard to pedestrians and cyclists.

  This law also has not taken into consideration the impacts of illegal dumping. DSNY has removed the majority of the waste and recycling bins from NYC streets, yet this does not address the issue of waste being generated. Instead, people either litter or illegally dispose of their waste in any bins that they find, whether they be commercial or residential. This law has no leeway for the victims of illegal dumping, and businesses will face fines for errors that are not theirs.

  There are other ways in which the receptacles themselves could become rat attractions and a public safety hazard. Businesses might not have the space or available labor to clean and maintain receptacles, which will cause them to break and become unusable, or get dirty and attract rats. Also, there are no specifications on what qualifies as a “tight-fitting lid” in the proposed rule, so businesses could mistakenly purchase a bin with a lid that could be described as tight-fitting but be insufficient to keep out rats, who will then be in the receptable, causing a safety hazard for businesses and trash haulers, and could jump out of the receptacles at passersby, creating a safety hazard. Finally, trash bin lids often get lost or broken during pickups in New York City, and so businesses will have no lid for their bins, resulting in a rat attraction that encourages the rats to stay in the receptacles, or they will have to order new lids, which would be a major undue financial burden.

  In summary, we urge DSNY to rethink this law, and rat control initiatives in general, with businesses in mind. We applaud New York City’s new food-related commercial and residential composting requirements and believe that these will be much more effective at blocking rats’ access to food waste due to the sturdy vermin-proof design of composting bins (provided by haulers) and the success thus far of composting programs in the city. There are also other ways to reduce the populations of rats roaming the streets that do not pose undue burdens on trash-generating businesses such as exterminating rat colonies at construction sites before beginning construction (which avoids the displacement of colonies to the city streets). Thank you for your time and attention and we look forward to being an active participant in bettering our city.

  Comment attachment
  Public-Comment-–-DSNY-Proposed-Rule-Relating-to-the-Use-of-Receptacles-by-Food-Related-Businesses.pdf

  Comment added June 21, 2023 7:33pm

• Tanay Jaipuria

  While I appreciate the efforts to remove trash bags from the sidewalks, I believe that simply replacing them with permanent bins without considering pedestrian safety and efficient garbage collection is not an ideal solution. Therefore, I urge you to prioritize pedestrians and consider placing the bins in the curb space instead.

  One of the primary issues with the current approach is that it does not contribute to creating pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. In areas with already narrow sidewalks, the addition of bins on the sidewalk will further hinder the movement of pedestrians. This creates unnecessary obstacles and can be particularly challenging for individuals with disabilities, parents with strollers, or elderly residents. It is essential that we do not replace one problem with another and ensure that our sidewalks remain accessible for everyone.

  I propose that containers for restaurant trash be placed in the curb lane rather than on the sidewalk. This approach not only allows for adequate space for pedestrians but also facilitates more efficient garbage collection. Emptying containers over or around parked cars, as a possible alternative, is not reasonable and may lead to additional complications and safety hazards. Pilot projects have already demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of trash containers placed in the curb lane, making it a viable solution that should be considered on a broader scale.

  Moreover, I strongly believe that public space plays a crucial role in public health. By placing trash in bins and containerizing it, we can significantly mitigate New York City’s rodent population and promote a safe and healthy environment. Swept streets and sidewalks, free from rats, are essential for the well-being of our residents. Implementing this proposed rule change will be a tangible step towards achieving this vision and enhancing the quality of public space in our city.

  In conclusion, I kindly request that the New York Department of Sanitation take into consideration the points mentioned above and prioritize the pedestrian experience when formulating regulations regarding restaurant trash disposal. Placing bins in the curb space is a practical and efficient solution that will not only benefit pedestrians but also contribute to public health and the overall cleanliness of our streets.

  Thank you for your attention to this matter. I trust that you will give due consideration to this proposal and take the necessary steps to improve the current approach to restaurant trash disposal. I am available for further discussion or to provide any additional information that may assist in the decision-making process.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 8:13pm

• Matt Parker

  I support the rule but restaurants should be able to use curbside space for containers. This is the right step for improving public health and ending the ridiculous practice of having lose trash bags on the sidewalk, but the containers should not be on sidewalks, they should be on the street.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 10:23pm

• Nidish

  Containerized trash is obviosuly a better solution than having restaurants throw garbage bags on the sidewalk.

  And these trash containers should not be on the sidewalk. There is too much free parking in the city, reclaim some of that space. Keep bike lanes intact.

  Underground containers are even better, please figure out how to build more efficiently so that we can catch up to the rest of the world.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 11:37pm

• Nathan Maue

  This is a great start towards improving the cleanliness of our city and reduce rats and waste on the sidewalk. However, replacing bags with permanent containers on the sidewalk still creates obstacles for pedestrians, especially in places with narrow sidewalks. Instead, these permanent containers should be placed in the curb lane to ensure there remains space on the sidewalk for pedestrians. It also makes collection easier so that the containers don’t need to be emptied around parked cars. Containerizing trash is a concrete way to reduce the rodent population and related public health concerns, and we should be using the existing public space to achieve these goals.

  Comment added June 21, 2023 11:40pm

• Lee Shinall

  I fully support containerized trash for all waste collection in the city. This is great step towards that, and I hope it can be expanded to more types of businesses and buildings, including residential ones. As trash blocking and impeding sidewalks is a problem throughout the city, all trash receptacles should be placed on the street side of the curb in designated areas, NOT on the sidewalk. In addition to reducing rats and improving the cleanliness of sidewalks, this will enable easier passage for pedestrians with carts, strollers, canes, walkers, and wheelchairs.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 7:24am

• Gibson Oakley

  I fully support the containerization of trash, an effective means of curbing rat populations. However, these containers should not be located on walkways. Instead, these should be located in the curb lane, even if that means converting street space from parking to container storage.

  Containers serve a public good for many people, reducing rodent populations and improving neighborhood aesthetic (compared to bagged trash on sidewalks). Walkways serve a public good for many people, allowing the community to visit local businesses and remain physically active. Street parking or overly wide vehicle lanes provide limited benefit, given the amount of space taken up compared to the number of people served. Private vehicles are particularly inefficient with their space usage.

  Given the benefits of containerizing trash and ensuring access to walkways for pedestrians, taken alongside the relative inefficiency of private vehicle storage on public streets, I suggest that the rule be modified to place these containers not on the sidewalk, but in the curb lane.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 7:59am

• Kaitlyn conway

  Please containerize trash! Please put these containers where cars park and not on the sidewalk! Use public space for public goods, not private car storage!!

  Comment added June 22, 2023 9:29am

• Max kohn

  Thank you for putting the containerization of trash high on your priority list. Let’s also do this in a way that values all New Yorkers, not just those who drive. Please place these much-needed containers in the street/curb space and not the sidewalk!

  Comment added June 22, 2023 9:31am

• Jackson Chabot

  Thank you for taking feedback on this important rule. As Open Plans, we recommend three key considerations.

  Prioritize the pedestrian – While it’s great to get trash bags off the sidewalk (especially trash from restaurants that’s likely to have food which attracts rats), replacing piles of bags with permanent bins does nothing to help make our sidewalks more pedestrian friendly. Especially in areas with already narrow sidewalks, bins on the sidewalk will make it hard for pedestrians to get by. We should not replace one problem with another.

  Place the bins in the curb space – Containers to hold restaurant trash should be placed in the curb lane rather than on the sidewalk. This will ensure pedestrians have adequate space, and will make garbage collection much easier. Emptying containers over or around parked cars is not a reasonable option. Pilot projects have already shown that trash containers placed in the curb lane are an effective and efficient use of public space.

  Public health, public space – Public space is crucial to public health and putting trash in bins, and containerizing it in general, is a concrete way to mitigate New York’s rodent population. Safe and healthy public space looks like swept streets and sidewalks, free from rats, and having trash in bins. This proposed rule helps achieve this vision.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 9:56am

• Lei

  Please consider designating curb space for trash receptacles and keeping them off of the sidewalk. Let’s take our city back from the automobile!

  Comment added June 22, 2023 10:01am

• Alex Weiner

  This is a great does however these cannot be in the sidewalk they need to be on the curb where they are not interfering with pedestrian traffic. These would actually help pedestrian safety if these were used to daylight dangerous intersections.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 10:09am

• Katya Willard

  Prioritize the pedestrian – While it’s great to get trash bags off the sidewalk (especially trash from restaurants that’s likely to have food which attracts rats), replacing piles of bags with permanent bins does nothing to help make our sidewalks more pedestrian friendly. Especially in areas with already narrow sidewalks, bins on the sidewalk will make it hard for pedestrians to get by. We should not replace one problem with another.

  Place the bins in the curb space – Containers to hold restaurant trash should be placed in the curb lane rather than on the sidewalk. This will ensure pedestrians have adequate space, and will make garbage collection much easier. Emptying containers over or around parked cars is not a reasonable option. Pilot projects have already shown that trash containers placed in the curb lane are an effective and efficient use of public space.

  Public health, public space – Public space is crucial to public health and putting trash in bins, and containerizing it in general, is a concrete way to mitigate New York’s rodent population. Safe and healthy public space looks like swept streets and sidewalks, free from rats, and having trash in bins. This proposed rule helps achieve this vision.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 10:46am

• Adam F

  The piles of loose trash on nearly every commercial block are a blight on our city, the chief reason our city is a breeding ground for vermin, and when the piles get high enough, are barriers to accessibility. They smell and look foul and even when they’re picked up, leave stains on the sidewalk making our commercial districts filthy. It’s a no-brainer to require all trash collection be in containers and it should happen as quickly as possible.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 11:22am

• Andrew Rigie, NYC Hospitality Alliance

  June 22, 2023

  Comments of the NYC Hospitality Alliance on the Department of Sanitation’s proposal to amend its rules relating to the use of certain receptacles for food-related businesses

  The NYC Hospitality Alliance (“The Alliance”) is a not-for-profit organization representing restaurants, bars, and nightclubs throughout the five boroughs that would be affected by the NYC Department of Sanitation’s (“DSNY”) proposed rule, which if adopted will require all food-related businesses to set out their waste at the curb in rigid receptacles with tight-fitting lids for commercial carter pick up.

  The Alliance is a supporter of containerizing trash, and we urge food businesses to do so whenever practicable, but we strongly oppose DSNY’s proposal to mandate that all food businesses do so because it is impractical or impossible for many businesses under this proposal. We conducted a survey, and a sample of nearly 400 hundred restaurants and bars replied that they’d be unable or have significant challenges complying with this proposed mandate due to lack of indoor and outdoor space, and other logistical challenges.

  While some food businesses already containerize their waste, or would do so if encouraged or required, a segment of the industry has shared these valid concerns with us about their limitations, and in many cases inability to comply with this proposed sweeping mandate:

  Storing Trash Containers Indoors:

  Many food businesses do not have adequate indoor space to fit a bunch of large rigid garbage containers inside their small businesses, and/or carrying them through sidewalk cellar doors poses additional physical challenges to workers.

  In restaurants with limited indoor space, storing large rigid dirty garbage containers inside near food preparation areas and customer seating areas is unappealing, creates nuisances, sanitary issues, and likely increases the chance of pest and vermin issues that may result in Department of Health Violations.

  Storing Trash Containers Outdoors for Restaurants that Cannot do so Indoors:

  Many food businesses have narrow storefronts. This mandate would force them to store a bunch of garbage containers right in front of their business blocking their windows and obstructing their storefronts.

  Neighboring businesses and residential buildings will undoubtedly complain when food businesses permanently store a bunch of large rigid and smelly garbage containers right next to their entrances, as will community boards and local groups that may not want thousands of garbage cans permanently stationed in front of buildings, especially when there are multiple containers that get knocked over, strewn about at night, etc.

  The City of New York is also enacting an historic outdoor dining program and if a restaurant must store their large garbage containers on the public sidewalk directly contiguous to their storefront, the space designed to be utilized as a sidewalk cafe, it will limit their ability to have a sidewalk café and place this historic program the mayor wants to make permanent in jeopardy.

  Violations and Miscellaneous Concerns

  Mayor Adams’ Administration and the City Council have focused on education and compliance first and levying fines against small businesses as a last resort, which they do in part by incorporating warnings and cure periods for first time violations into existing and new laws and rules. Yet, this is another recent example of DSNY’s failure to follow by publishing a rule that doesn’t allow for warnings and/or cure periods. We find this to sharply contrast with the stated regulatory culture of Mayor Adams’ Administration seeks to achieve.

  Businesses that currently use garbage containers reported pedestrians opening them and leaving their own trash and recyclables in the containers resulting in fines from DSNY for not separating materials properly, so how will the agency mitigate against these unfair violations and fines to businesses?

  These large garbage containers will need to be regularly cleaned to avoid health and rodent problems. Thousands of small restaurants do not have the facilities to accomplish that indoors so, our city’s sidewalks will be turned into washing areas for these garbage containers resulting in dirty water runoff that result in more complaints.

  The NYC Hospitality Alliance recognizes the myriad of problems with our city’s current garbage collection system and supports an overhaul, but it must be achievable and doesn’t create other undesirable outcomes such as replacing garbage bags placed on the curb line after 8pm for a few hours, for thousands of garbage containers permanently stationed in front of businesses across the city 24/7, which similarly seems unwieldy and unsightly. We understand that our private commercial carting system complicates trash containerization because even under the to be implemented Zone Carting system multiple carters will service an area and this poses challenges for communal containers, which the city seeks to implement for residential garbage. But even there, the city is implementing a pilot program for themselves for residential collection before mandating it citywide, but the city seeks to immediately impose this mandate on businesses without a pilot program, whose trash they aren’t responsible for collecting.

  We urge DSNY to slow down this process and work with the restaurant industry to get more businesses to containerize their garbage and seek solutions to the challenges we’ve listed. For example, this proposal doesn’t even allow for a restaurant to petition the city to allow them to store the garbage containers on the curb line, parking space, or elsewhere on the block, get a waiver, or explore other options like using rodent repellent garbage bags. Furthermore, with the major transition to the Zone Carting system underway, further exploration about how containerization could work better under that scheme should be discussed. We were appointed to the Zone Waste Advisory Board and urge the city to reconvene affected stakeholders from that Board to explore possibilities and opportunities.

  We strongly oppose this proposed rule as drafted, remain committed to working collaboratively with Mayor Adams’ Administration, DSNY, and stakeholders to find better solutions, and we thank you for your consideration of our comments.

  If you have questions, please contact our executive director Andrew Rigie at arigie@thenycalliance.org

  Respectfully submitted,

  NYC Hospitality Alliance

  Comment attachment
  6.22.23-Requiring-Receptacles-for-Food-Related-Businesses-Comments-NYC-Hospitality-Alliance-.pdf

  Comment added June 22, 2023 11:24am

• Jacob Shavzin

  This is a must!! Will solve many problems with space and rats. Already done in many cities.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 11:28am

• Lewis Anderson

  Trash containerization is a long overdue public health measure for the city, but if containers are installed on the sidewalk they’ll do nothing to improve the pedestrian environment. Placing them in the roadbed next to the curb will keep the sidewalk clear of trash and other obstructions to accessibility, while also calming traffic. There’s a huge opportunity here to enhance the city’s street environment, but only if we take pedestrians seriously and refuse to compromise on sidewalk space. Don’t waste this opportunity!

  Comment added June 22, 2023 11:33am

• Will Lanier

  Not on the sidewalk. Use a parking space off the curb. Prioritize peds.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:03pm

• Joseph Frazier

  Give priority to pedestrians – While it’s commendable to remove trash bags from the sidewalk, especially those from restaurants that may attract rats due to food residues, replacing piles of bags with permanent bins does not contribute to enhancing the pedestrian-friendliness of our sidewalks. This is particularly true in areas where sidewalks are already narrow, as bins placed on the sidewalk obstruct pedestrian passage. It is not advisable to substitute one problem with another.

  Allocate the bins to the curb space – Instead of positioning containers for restaurant trash on the sidewalk, they should be placed in the curb lane. This arrangement ensures that pedestrians have sufficient space and facilitates garbage collection. Discharging the contents of the containers over or around parked cars is not a reasonable alternative. Pilot projects have already demonstrated that locating trash containers in the curb lane effectively and efficiently utilizes public space.

  Public health and public space – Public space plays a crucial role in maintaining public health, and utilizing bins to contain trash is a practical approach to managing New York’s rodent population. A clean and safe public space entails swept streets and sidewalks that are free from rats, with trash properly disposed of in bins. This proposed regulation contributes to realizing this vision.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:06pm

• Tony Melone

  I support trash receptacles stored on the street — we need to prioritize pedestrian accessibility and discourage storage of private vehicles on our public streets. Along with strong implementation of the composting program, containerized trash should reduce the rat infestation that I see near my home in Brooklyn, with piles of trash bags on every block. Eliminating parking spaces would be an added benefit, as this would discourage driving and help us meet our climate goals.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:08pm

• Alan Gerber

  Using the public space on the streets that belong to all of us for a containerized waste system that benefits all of us (via reduced exposure to garbage, reduced rats, reduced litter, and reduced cost of housing via reduced operating expenses) is just common sense.

  Some people may wish to store their private property on that public space for free, but that space belongs to all New Yorkers, and we all need to do something about rats and piles of stinking garbage. Containerized waste is a proven solution worldwide that we must adopt.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:15pm

• Chris Homburger

  My Commentary on the Proposed Rules:
  Prioritize the pedestrian:
  While it’s great to get trash bags off the sidewalk (especially trash from restaurants that’s likely to have food which attracts rats), replacing piles of bags with permanent bins does nothing to help make our sidewalks more pedestrian friendly. Especially in areas with already narrow sidewalks, bins on the sidewalk will make it hard for pedestrians to get by. We should not replace one problem with another.

  Place the bins in the curb space:
  Containers to hold restaurant trash should be placed in the curb lane rather than on the sidewalk. This will ensure pedestrians have adequate space, and will make garbage collection much easier. Emptying containers over or around parked cars is not a reasonable option. Pilot projects have already shown that trash containers placed in the curb lane are an effective and efficient use of public space.

  Public health, public space:
  Public space is crucial to public health and putting trash in bins, and containerizing it in general, is a concrete way to mitigate New York’s rodent population. Safe and healthy public space looks like swept streets and sidewalks, free from rats, and having trash in bins. This proposed rule helps achieve this vision.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:21pm

• Chris Huggins

  We need to prioritize the pedestrian across the entire city! While it’s great to get trash bags off the sidewalk, most sidewalks are TOO SMALL already. The bins cannot go on the sidewalks. Instead, put the bins on the curb lane. Every other civilized city in the world (Buenos Aires, Berlin, Madrid, London, Paris, etc) does this and there is a clear pattern. We do not need to reinvent the wheel here.

  All containers to hold trash should be placed in the curb lane rather than on the sidewalk. This will ensure pedestrians have adequate space, and will make garbage collection much easier. Emptying containers over or around parked cars is not a reasonable option. Pilot projects have already shown that trash containers placed in the curb lane are an effective and efficient use of public space.

  The sidewalk is public space. Public space is crucial to public health and putting trash in bins, and containerizing it in general, is a concrete way to mitigate New York’s rodent population. Safe and healthy public space looks like swept streets and sidewalks, free from rats, and having trash in bins. This proposed rule helps achieve this vision.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:24pm

• Solveig E

  Trash receptacles should be located in the curb/parking lane. This is better for pedestrians, restaurant goers and car owners that don’t have to have trash bags dragged over the hood of their vehicles.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:32pm

• Zed Kolk

  I’m in support of requiring restaurants to use containerised trash, but this should only be the first step towards a goal of everyone in the city using containerised trash. Both businesses and individuals.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:43pm

• Sonia P.

  As a pedestrian I think this is a great idea! The other day a large rat ran into my foot. That was not a great experience for either me or the rat. But, I hope that this doesn’t mean that space will be taken out of the sidewalk. Parking lanes are free real estate for drivers in NYC. Why? We’re the only big city in the world with free parking while more and more additions encroach on narrow sidewalks and make walking even more unsafe than it already is. Let people walk. It’s better for our health and for the environment, and not everyone can afford a car! Why should people who can afford a car get to take up so much of our public space while pedestrians get less and less of it? Please make sure bins are in the street and not on the sidewalk.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:43pm

• Ernie Deeb

  It’s plain as day that our city is not the model for clean, beautiful, walkable sidewalks that it should be. This initiative would take a step in the right direction by reclaiming walkable area for pedestrians, removing the hideous eyesore of mountains of garbage in public, and inconvenience our increasingly comfortable rodent population by cutting of easy access to their favorite food sources. The benefits of this program far outweigh the drawbacks. Get it done, and continue thinking about redesigning our city in ways that favors public and environmental health.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:44pm

• zed

  Please do not publish my previous comment. I was unaware they would be made public and I do not wish to have my last name publicly available.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:45pm

• Ariel Kadouri

  I support the DSNY proposal to require businesses to contain organic waste. This will greatly reduce the amount of food that rats and other vermin can access and help keep our streets clean.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:45pm

• Cindy McLaughlin

  We desperately need to remove free parking from our streets to make room for more productive uses, such as waste containers, curbside delivery, dining, bike lanes, Citibike, trees, bioswales, seating, and more). Large – or several large – waste containers should be placed on every block in curb “dead zones” that would not be better used for public activities like outdoor dining. Specifically, please don’t put them immediately in front of restaurants in a way that would remove the space for dining.

  We should absolutely require containerization for restaurants. But we should require it for everyone else as well. There is no sanitary and rat-free way of handling trash that includes piling leaky trash bags on sidewalks. Every scrap of waste should be containerized, attractive permanent containers like CitiBin should be used everywhere, and pickup should be harmonized, so we’re not treating commercial waste differently from residential waste. It’s all the same stuff, it all needs daily collection, and we can reduce truck congestion and VMT by having NYC DOS be responsible for all of it.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 12:54pm

• Cindy McLaughlin

  NYC should proceed as quickly as possible with waste containerization. We are the only modern city that piles leaking bags of trash on the sidewalk, inviting rats, leakage, and post-pickup remains. Waste containerization should be universal, attractive (in hardened bins like Citibin), and applicable to all commercial and residential waste. It should also include standardized pickup — so that DOS is responsible for all of it with specialized trucks for mechanical loading. Taking a daily, consistent, and uniform approach to waste management would substantially improve our public realm, improve hygiene, and reduce truck VMT and neighborhood congestion from private haulers.

  The City must be bold about removing free curb parking and replacing it with waste containers and other more productive uses. Our current use generates no revenue and has no public good — it only encourages car ownership and driving in the most transit-rich city in the country. We should be repurposing the curb for uses that enhance the public realm: bike lanes, outdoor dining, bioswales, trees, seating, Citibike racks, waste containerization, and more. Thank you!

  Comment added June 22, 2023 1:10pm

• David

  I 100% support this proposed rule. Containers should be in the curb lane and not on the sidewalk to provide adequate space to prioritize pedestrians and bike lanes. I’m also in support of reducing parking spots on the street in order to make space for the containers. However, please research how other cities around the world deal with containerized trash (especially the Netherlands and Germany). The containerized trash proposals and pilots I’ve seen in NYC are clearly not state-of-the-art or well conceptualized from a product design perspective.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 1:14pm

• Emma Clarke

  I agree that food-related businesses should place trash in receptacles with tight fitting lids in the curb lane. Reducing the rat population is critical to keeping NYC a safe place for all, including our unhoused neighbors who are vulnerable to rats at all times.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 2:08pm

• Eric JS

  I strongly support the and here’s why:

  Prioritize the pedestrian – While it’s great to get trash bags off the sidewalk, replacing piles of bags with permanent bins does nothing to help make our sidewalks more pedestrian friendly. Especially in areas with already narrow sidewalks, bins on the sidewalk will make it hard for pedestrians to get by. We should not replace one problem with another.

  Place the bins in the curb space – Containers to hold restaurant trash should be placed in the curb lane rather than on the sidewalk. This will ensure pedestrians have adequate space, and will make garbage collection much easier. Emptying containers over or around parked cars is not a reasonable option. Pilot projects have already shown that trash containers placed in the curb lane are an effective and efficient use of public space.

  Public health, public space – Public space is crucial to public health and putting trash in bins, and containerizing it in general, is a concrete way to mitigate New York’s rodent population. Safe and healthy public space looks like swept streets and sidewalks, free from rats, and having trash in bins. This proposed rule helps achieve this vision.

  Thank you!

  Comment added June 22, 2023 2:32pm

• Josh

  I fully support the containerization of restaurant trash, and urge you to create designated space for containers at the curb rather than on the sidewalk. It is crucial that these containers not compete with pedestrians for already-limited sidewalk space when there is so much poorly used space readily available in parking lanes.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 2:40pm

• Kevin Dugan

  Regarding mandated trash containerization

  Good afternoon. My name is Kathleen Reilly Irwin, and I am the NYC Government Affairs Manager for the New York State Restaurant Association. We are a trade association representing food and beverage establishments in New York City and State. We are the largest hospitality trade association in the State, and we have advocated on behalf of our members for over 80 years. Our members represent a large and widely regulated constituency in New York City, and our industry continues to be disproportionately harmed by the lingering impact and losses of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  We understand that the Department of Sanitation has set ambitious goals for pest mitigation in New York City, and the Department sees trash containerization as an important step in achieving those goals. We share a desire to reduce the impact of rats and other pests around the city, and recognize that commercial waste, along with residential waste, can be better managed and contained than it is today. That said, the proposed rule in question would create a one-size-fits-all unfunded mandate, directed only at food related businesses including restaurants, which are some of the most economically burdened businesses post-Covid. As written, this rule would create logistical and cost burdens for our membership and add to their frustration of regularly bearing the brunt of enforcement and ‘novel’ regulation in the name of street and sidewalk cleanliness.
  The Department has already begun lightly incentivizing trash containerization for all businesses, by allowing them slightly earlier trash setout times when they use containers with lids for their trash. While this new trash setout rule was only recently put into place, the Department is clearly looking to move the needle faster and has not been satisfied with containerization progress thus far. In this case – rather than mandate containerization for food service businesses only – perhaps the better route forward is to survey businesses who have not elected to containerize trash to find out, why? With a small incentive like earlier trash setout times in place, why have you elected to keep your plastic bags? Is it the cost, the storage, the cleanliness and maintenance of the bins? Is it an issue with your carter? These are all valid reasons why a business may not be able to move to trash containerization yet, and all opportunities for the Department of Sanitation, in collaboration with other city agencies, to make a difference. Maybe our city businesses need access to small grants to upgrade their waste infrastructure. Maybe the Department could issue a rule regulating the way carters handle and charge for emptying waste from bins. Maybe, alongside the Department of Transportation, the Department could identify streets where sidewalk space is far too narrow for bin setout and storage, and designate some communal roadway space for bins to be stored.
  Instead, this rule dictates that food related businesses alone are responsible for purchasing bins with tight-fitting lids, storing them somewhere, but not somewhere that blocks the sidewalk, and paying their carters to empty them however often they fill up. With so little guidance or city assistance and the threat of any number of violations and fines, restaurants are understandably daunted with the prospect of compliance with the proposed rule. In addition to the outreach and troubleshooting suggested above, we would strongly encourage the Department of Sanitation to consider including the following features in the current step towards trash containerization:
  • Include roadway bin storage options, particularly on streets with narrow sidewalks
  • Offer grants and/or arrange for bulk purchasing of acceptable bins for affected businesses
  • Create a waiver for ability to comply, particularly for small storefronts
  • Create a system for reporting price gouging or other unreasonable charges by private haulers for emptying bins
  • Include a one-year grace period with education-first enforcement, including an obligation for inspectors to determine any logistical barriers to complying for businesses out of compliance, and compile those findings for DSNY
  In conclusion, the New York State Restaurant Association does recognize the importance of pest mitigation, and we hope to have contributed some reasonable and workable suggestions to make the transition to trash containerization more feasible for restaurants. Thank you for considering our feedback, and we look forward to continued collaboration on this issue.

  Respectfully Submitted,

  Kathleen Reilly Irwin
  NYC Government Affairs Manager
  New York State Restaurant Association
  401 New Karner Road
  Albany, New York 12205

  Comment attachment
  Rules-comment-trash-containerization.docx

  Comment added June 22, 2023 3:03pm

• Nicholas Kakheladze

  Metal trash bins (with secure lids) should be of the highest urgency of implementation. However, they should be located on the STREET, rather than the sidewalk. Pedestrians should not continue to suffer their lived experience due to a small minority of people who choose to drive in the city.

  Take away a few parking spots on every street and implement a robust, extensive, and multi-facetted (recycling, composting, etc.) waste disposal system. The way this city handles waste disposal is an embarrassment when compared to our European counterparts, and is completely overdue at this point.

  The archaic garbage bags are inefficient and downright hazardous due to the sheer amount of rats and vermin that they attract, ruining the quality of life of the city and its residents. Color-coded, metal-based, waste disposal bins placed on every street corner (ON THE STREET) are a MUST.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 3:08pm

• David Taylor

  I am so excited to have refuse in containers to improve the cleanliness, appearance and health of the city, but I also believe these containers should not obstruct the sidewalks; the proper place for such structures would be in the curb lane.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 3:31pm

• Brandon West

  As a CB6 member in Brooklyn, and a member of the transportation committee, I’m shocked people are against this idea. Finally our city can resemble others in the world who have figured out better ways to manage sanitation. If we invest in mass transit, the loss of parking will not be an issue.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 4:25pm

• Diego Barberena

  Proposed Rule Relating to the Use of Certain Receptacles by Food-Related Businesses

  I think is a great Idea. I was in today’s hearing and most of the concerns were address in the DSNY’s Study the future of trash:
  https://dsny.cityofnewyork.us/wp-content/uploads/reports/future-of-trash-april-2023.pdf

  What the private carting industry needs is start adopting these standards, especially the shared side loader containers. My company distributes them, as same as the equipment to pick them up. Private carters will benefit if they offer this service to their clients. It will solve most of their client concerns. The equipment is similar to the cost of what is being used now. We are open to partner with any carter that wants to implement this system.

  For the costumer is easy. Take the trash out to the container any time any day, and forget about it.

  The containers are about the same price, and they can include electronics that restricts the access and measures the fill level. Similar of what DSNY is already doing with their compost Smart bins and their app.

  The only difference is that these containers have a much bigger capacity, 3 Cubic Yards, and can be service in less than a minute. Using these methods there is no more fines for the trash getting blown, or the trash be taken out too early.

  https://youtu.be/XjSCmosoqBA

  Container fill sensors will tell the carter when to pick them up saving time and fuel. Containers can be picked up by one person, not 2, saving labor. The machine does the lifting, no need to come down of the truck in hot, cold, or rainy days. Waste can also easily be sorted in 4 different streams: waste, compost, paper & carboard, and glass & metal. What I observe now is that restaurants divide their trash, but it all gets thrown together in the back of a rear loader.

  A more simpler option is having wheeled container inside other containers, but This will end being more costly as it is less efficient. But this can be done fast as there is no need to have special trucks.

  DSNY Report states that a side loader pilot project will take 3 years to implement. My firm can do it in 6 months.

  https://youtu.be/jSxWV1n3Szk
  .
  DSNY report also states that to implement the side loaders there is the need for a European truck as US trucks will not work. US Trucks are capable of working with this European Systems (European Bodies). This is what is done all over the world, local truck chassis, European truck body. This is what was done in Kissimmee and Clearwater Florida in their underground container projects.

  US Truck Chassis with Italian Lift and Compactor used in Florida.
  DSNY report states that there are no European trucks in the USA. There are at least 2 European style trucks in the USA. Both were exhibited at the Waste Expo in New Orleans.

  Mercedes Econic, UK
  https://www.mercedes-benz-trucks.com/en_GB/models/econic.html

  Freightliner Econic SD, USA
  https://freightliner.com/trucks/econicsd/

  Dennis Eagle, UK
  https://www.dennis-eagle.co.uk/products/olympus-rcv-range/

  Dennis Eagle, USA
  https://www.dennis-eagle.com/en/
  Regarding how much will this cost?

  The truck chassis (MACK LR Diesel which is what the city currently uses), is roughly $250,000 and the truck body and its installation is about $200,000. Total price for the truck is around $450,000. Containers are about $2,000 dollars. That is 2 assembled trucks ($900,00) and 300 containers ($600,000) will cost $1.5 million total. 300 container will hold 900 CY all together. This can easily be scaled up.

  These equipment should last 8 years. Assuming that the trash is picked 2 times a week (2x52x900x8=748,800cy), the cost of moving one CY of waste & recycling to a container is $2.00. if one factors that you need half the labor, and the routes will be more efficient, this should profduce a net saving in time, money, diesel & labor.

  I am here to help and solve any questions.

  Diego Barberena, LEED AP BD+C
  CEO

  1838 Second Avenue
  New York, NY 10128
  http://www.WasteTech.US
  212-3488333

  Comment attachment
  2023.06.22-Receptacles-Food-Related-Businesses.pdf

  Comment added June 22, 2023 4:46pm

• Ren

  I support containerization but please make sure to not put the containers on the sidewalk. New York City sidewalks are narrow and on crowded streets there’s barely any place for movement, not accounting for wheelchair or stroller users.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 4:58pm

• James Ballantine

  It would be highly beneficial to the city if trash collection was containerized. Leaving bags on the sidewalk that can easily break or be broken into by rats is highly unsanitary, blocks pedestrians from being able to walk safely on the sidewalk, and frankly just unsightly. It also has the potential to reduce labor costs for the sanitation department in the future if the city invests in trucks that can automatically pick up these containers.

  People may complain that reducing parking would be bad, but we are likely talking about a percentage point or two of the city’s parking spaces at most, and I think those people may not understand that parking demand adjusts to the amount of parking in the city (this is called induced demand or induced supply). If there is less parking, some people will simply take transit or other means of travel. The majority of the city that already doesn’t own a car already does this. Parking in the city is difficult and frustrating but, as long as the city gives away parking for free, that will continue to be the case whether we have more or less parking.

  Everyone benefits from containerized trash collection, but only a minority of people benefit from these few parking spaces that would be removed. I think the choice is clear.

  Comment added June 22, 2023 7:34pm