Time for Placing Solid Waste and Recyclable Materials Out at the Curb for Collection

Online comments: 75

• [email protected]

  As a Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn resident, I strongly oppose this rule change.

  Like most residential homeowners, I am concerned with the cleanliness of our streets. Yet this initiative, like most the City implements, puts yet another onus on residential community members, rather than where actual improvements in the situation could be made.

  1. We cannot trust our sanitation workers to responsibly treat our trash pails (they are strewn over the street itself after every weekly pickup, sometimes a house down the block, and THEN they are only half-emptied – if we are lucky). How can we expect that they will spend the additional 1/2 of a second required to keep a lid associated to it’s pail? They will be lost within a month.
  2. How about getting the santitation teams to actually show up on a reliable schedule? Ours frequently show up many hours, even into the late afternoon, for morning pickups.
  3. How about the crews not leave trash strewn throughout the street after emptying the pails?

  4. How, pray tell, is keeping our pails 6 feet from the eventual curbside location another two hours going to solve this rat problem?

  5. And finally, how about focusing on businesses dealing with food and the large mountains of refuse regularly in front of apartment buildings, rather than pulling individual households into this issue? If rats are being attracted to garbage in any numbers it’s from the piles upon piles upon piles of garbage lining our streets – NOT our residential trash pails. Do you really need a study to realize this?

  One decision after another this City’s management makes increases the difficulty of actually living in this City and ever pushes me to leave it.

  John Campanie

  Comment added October 17, 2022 9:03pm

• Mike

  This will be forcing small building owners or those paid by them who don’t live at the premises to now travel at night in an unsafe city to put garbage to the curb, or even if the person does live at the premises, it would require venturing out after dark increasing risk of attack, it is not worth the risk.

  Comment added October 18, 2022 1:42pm

• DAVINDRANAUTH SHIWRATAN

  This rule is unfair to small homeowners, who are paying their quarterly property tax hikes, to be in compliance or be issue DSNY violation in the City Hall revenue collection scheme. “Rats” is the pretext to collect revenue in enforcement violations and shaping living in New York City to be difficult.

  Comment added October 18, 2022 5:04pm

• MN

  While I highly doubt this rule will change anything for the rats, they’ll just wait another 2 hours for their dinner.

  But I have no problem with placing my garbage out later on regular days, so if someone thinks this will help I’m ok with that in general.

  BUT there must be an exception for Friday evening for anyone who has collection on Saturday morning. 8pm is too late for us to be able to place the garbage out before sundown on Friday as required by jewish law.

  Thank you

  Comment added October 19, 2022 2:22pm

• BA

  Cambria Heights Cares
  Why do the New York “powers that be” continuously change the rules for the residents of New York but not change the rules for their Agencies?!! The Dept of Sanitation is NOT consistent when it comes to garbage pick-up. Regular garbage MIGHT be picked up by 9am but the recycle sits at the curb until 12:30 pm and sometimes later. The Sanitation workers are not made to adhere to a strict time to collect the garbage so why should New Yorker’s be fined for when garbage and recycle is placed at the curb. Where are the Sanitation supervisors that monitor the efficiency and work ethic of its workers? Trashcans that are paid for by residents are thrown and tossed carelessly and/or left in the street by sanitation workers. Garbage and recycle that drops out of trashcans when being emptied into the Sanitation trucks are left in the street by sanitation workers. Importantly, It gets darker earlier at this time of the year and not all residents are comfortable with taking out their garbage after dark. I DO NOT AGREE with this new proposal. How about focusing on this proposal…amend the rules concerning flyers, paper advertisements, notes, business cards from realtors, restaurants, construction companies and other businesses that are constantly being left on the outside doors of private homes! Make it illegal to put this type of trash on the doors of private homes. If it’s illegal to place or leave this type of trash on City buildings, it should be the same set of rules for New Yorker’s private property!

  Comment added October 20, 2022 7:06am

• Mays

  How exactly is it going to make a difference if I move the garbage from the side of my house to the curb 2 or 4 hours later. The rats can either come to the side of my house or they can wait a few more hours. This also places an extra burden on the elderly as they will have to go out at night to take care of the garbage. Also, for anyone that keeps Shabbos it will not be possible to take out the garbage so late on Fridays. Please reconsider this idea!

  Comment added October 20, 2022 7:47am

• AH

  On winter Fridays the Jewish Sabbath begins around 4 pm, so Orthodox Jews who have Saturday pickup will be unable to put out their trash. (And, while many Orthodox Jews live in heavily Jewish neighborhoods, not all do, so exempting said neighborhoods won’t solve the problem.)

  Aside from which, consider. Where is trash kept during the days between one pickup and the next? Often outside the building, as there’s too much to keep indoors. I live in a private house, and there are perhaps 15 feet from the area of my property where I keep my trash and the spot on the curb where I put it out for collection. In apartment buildings, too, it’s not that far from one to the other. Do the framers of this proposal think that rats can’t run that distance? It sounds like something dreamed up by someone who can’t think past the end of their own nose.

  Comment added October 20, 2022 11:45am

• Dd

  Why don’t you make the garbage collection happen at nighttime and not the wee hours of the morning? Less likely for rodents and cats to eat at the bags when there are people around. If you leave it out all night the problem won’t change.
  I have a system now with someone who takes out our garbage and a few of the tenants the live with us. I can’t imagine coming home from work in the evening (yes, I’m one of the few NYers that have a job) and then have to start dealing with garbage removal as well!

  Comment added October 21, 2022 3:17pm

• Sal

  I disagree with the requirement that lids must be placed on garbage cans when placed at curb side. Typically my garbage is picked up early in the morning or overnight and Sanitation crew end up grouping cans with other cans 2 or 3 houses away. I have no issues with recovering cans a couple of houses away, however the odds of me recovering the lids are slim to none. The lid requirement is a means for sanitation to enforce fines and homeowners to repeatedly purchase new lids.

  Comment added October 22, 2022 9:56am

• SDB

  I am both a homeowner and property manager. I do not agree that this proposal is trying to dominantly control the rat population mainly due to the fact that rats are nocturnal animals. This law proposes that we place trash on the curb during peak rat activity.
  Many people have already brought up the fact that trash already lives outside infront of houses so it truly makes no difference the hour at which is goes out if it’s in a bin as it’s been outside the entire day.
  This mostly effects the supers and homeowners responsible for bringing trash out. As you are now asking them to place our trash outside in the dark every evening. Our supers assist with multiple buildings and are often older community members. I think it’s an unfair ask considering that it will have no to minimal effect on the rat activity.

  I wonder if exterminators were consulted when determining the best way to rid of rats?
  I think this is a poorly constructed plan that cares more for beautification of the blocks. If they cared for rats, we’d be asked to place our garbage out after sunrise with collection prior to the afternoon.

  Comment added October 22, 2022 11:45am

• Anne

  The sanitation workers need to be responsible, ensure all the garbage is emptied from the containers, and then place the covered receptacles back in place. Their work is rushed and sloppy. If this means hiring more workers to accomplish the clean city goal, then that should be done.

  London has a good system with garbage containers that have covered receptacles. Garbage bags are never left on the streets for rats to pick over. The city and its sidewalks are much cleaner and pedestrians have room to walk. Please take a look at their system.

  The sidewalks of Manhattan are filthy with dog excrement, often smeared all over the sidewalk from irresponsible dog owners who permit their dogs to relieve themselves in the middle of the sidewalks. When will this be addressed? The sidewalks need to be power washed, and dog owners need to be fined for not curbing their dogs. It is egregious enough that those fines would probably pay for extra sanitation workers!
  Why are the hygiene laws being ignored in our city?

  Comment added October 22, 2022 12:31pm

• mike from queens

  I believe their is a simply solution to this problem. Have trash collections start at 8am-10pm. Have residents of ny put out trash at or after 5am. Rats and rodents are known to feed at night they are nocturnal creatures and focus on smell to dictate where to find food. After each garbage collection residents are required to clean and disinfect area at crub where trash is to put out for collection. Also in these rain gardens that have been placed all over the city, we need to have parks department plant various plants know to deter mice and rats such as peppermint, basil, marigold, rosemary and others it will also provide each community a fresh supply of these plants for cooking as the inflation seems to be heading higher while deterring rodents. As it is now these rain gardens have just the right environment to house these creatures. They are constantly damp and have plenty of foliage for them to use as homes. All trash collections that are done at night are on main roads so residents can sleep thru the night without hearing a truck crushing garbage early in the morning. New York city needs to have experts who are specialized in rats an rodents behavior to change the problem instead of concentrating on the source of their food, find their homes or environments that house them and change it so it is not suitable for them.

  Comment added October 23, 2022 9:28pm

• Deane

  The current 4pm timeframe for putting out garbage and recycling is not being enforced? How do I know this? I’ve lived at the same address for over forty years and I constantly see the same houses and apartment buildings putting out their garbage and recycling well before 4pm the day before their pickup day. This wouldn’t be so common if NYC was issuing warnings and, if necessary, fines to the offending parties. If NYC is not willing to enforce 4pm how can we be certain they’ll enforce a later time?

  Comment added October 24, 2022 8:57am

• Tracy Scott

  I oppose the proposed rule. As a senior, I prefer to put my garbage and recycling out earlier, before nightfall. Putting the trash out at 8 pm, particularly during dark, cold, and possibly icy winter months, makes it more likely that I and other older people could fall.

  Comment added October 24, 2022 1:02pm

• Dorothy McNamara

  Please consider the senior citizens, especially those who have health issues, and/or live alone as well as those who live in questionable areas, when the times to put out the garbage is under consideration. Myself and my neighbor are almost 80 and have health problems. Just getting the garbage out now is a struggle especially for my neighbor who has to call on others to assist her. Keeping the time as it is now while there is still light out is important to us. I understand how changing it for large apartments buildings could be helpful but for seniors those whose health is comprised and the disabled it is very problematic. “One size (time) does not fit all”
  Thank you for your consideration, Dorothy McNamara, Staten Island, NY

  Comment added October 24, 2022 2:04pm

• Muhib Rahman

  This is going to be a big problem for residential building with 32BJ unionized staff. Many building staff ends their shift well before 8pm. If this is to go in effect, how will the building take trash out? Its not easy to change staffing, not to mention the cost associated with it. DSNY should consider night pick up. Less traffic in the city and Rodent will be disappointed.

  I DISAGREE with this proposal.

  Comment added October 24, 2022 2:56pm

• James A. Liubicich

  To curtail the rat population, lids should be kept on the garbage pails until pickup. To place pails on the curb with lids would be impossible. My lids are tied up, so they don’t fly away during wind storms. At the curb, the sanitation crew will have no choice but to toss them off. The lids will fly away or get crushed. Then lids won’t be available to place back onto pails to prevent rats from getting in. The only solution is for the sanitation crew go to where the pails are secured & drag them to the curb & to the truck. That way garbage would never be exposed. Also, bags should not be allowed to be used for disposing of trash. A rat will easily get in within a short timeframe being left exposed on the curb.

  Comment added October 24, 2022 3:02pm

• Susan Fowler

  I appreciate the attempt to make garbage slightly less accessible to our neighbors, the rats, raccoons, and possums (on Staten Island), but I’m in my pajamas at 8 p.m. Requiring better containers instead of letting people/superintendents put out loose bags (no one would think of doing that in my neighborhood–re. rats, raccoons, and possums) makes more sense and could be phased in over time.

  Comment added October 24, 2022 3:17pm

• MSKK

  Hello: Requesting your help please. Regarding the proposed rule change for time to place trash at curbside: The proposed rule change isn’t feasible for my elderly, disabled relative who is unable to leave the house. My relative has aides who come to the house daily but they leave at 4:00 PM daily and they are not able to stay any later than 4:00PM. Nobody else is available to take out the trash later than 4:00 PM. Either the status quo currently existing time of 4:00 PM has to remain or a waiver needs to be granted for my relative.

  Comment added October 24, 2022 6:20pm

• BRIAN L LAWELL

  I agree with almost everything said in the comments submitted so far above (i.e. not one positive/pro comment so far for this proposal) especially the comments of “johncampanie”, “BA”, “Dd”, “Anne”, and “mike from queens”. I am AGAINST this proposal unless significant changes/additions are made per the comments above (such as making the sanitation workers more responsible, making the on the curb time after sunrise, etc.).

  Comment added October 24, 2022 9:52pm

• Micha

  Larger buildings have porters who finish their shift well before 8pm. Smaller buildings have visiting supers who usually service multiple buildings and not being able to take trash out until after 8pm is dangerous and not practical especially in the winter months. During Covid no one was in the streets after 7pm and in the winter that is often the case. Having an evening garbage pick up would make it more practical for buildings and mean the garbage is not out on the sidewalk all night – when the rats are also out!!

  Comment added October 25, 2022 3:07pm

• Kathleen

  This is horrible with the crime rate as it is you want the elderly to now put the trash out when it is dark. If they use a trash can the drivers toss the cans around and the covers never get put back on.

  Comment added October 26, 2022 11:23am

• Linda Sperling

  Our porters are unionized which means that they work from 8:30 AM to 4:30-5:00 PM. If we cannot put out the garbage until 8 PM, that means we have to pay the porters significant overtime. We would have the same problem if the garbage has to be put out between 4 AM – 7 AM. something that will be a burden on the shareholders of co-ops. Putting the garbage out at 4 PM and having the SDNY pick up at 8 PM would work better.

  Comment added October 26, 2022 3:11pm

• betty

  I disagree with this proposal for several reasons:
  1. Jewish people cannot put out the garbage after sundown, when the Sabbath starts.
  2. Many elderly people have health aides that put out the garbage. But they only work until 4 PM, so that would be a major problem for many people. The elderly can’t put it out themselves. Also, its dangerous, in some areas, to go out at night when no one is in the street. Besides, in the winter, the elderly are more susceptible to catching a sickness or slipping, especially when it’s dark and their vision and mobility are poor.
  3. This creates a hardship for stores that close at 5. It doesn’t make sense for the storeowners to travel back later just to put the garbage out.
  4. Besides the fact that the Sanitation workers don’t put back the garbage cans near the house, we have a problem that the new, or metal or good garbage cans get stolen.
  5. This would not solve the rat problem, it would maybe partially solve the garbage being an eyesore. Rat problems have to be dealt with through exterminators. Two hours will certainly not make a difference or dent in the rat population.
  6. The ONLY ONE TO GAIN FROM THIS IS THE CITY OR SANITATION DEPARTMENT, THROUGH THE REVENUE THAT THEY WILL GAIN THROUGH GIVING FINES TO HARD WORKING NEW YORKERS. This is not a solid or fair solution and does nothing to solve the rat problem. It’s just a smoke screen.

  Comment added October 27, 2022 1:51am

• Nancy Nisselbaum

  This new rule will force coop, condo, and rental apartment buildings to pay their staff overtime. What building has a super or porter who works past 8pm? And in our building, this is a two-person job. It’s seriously not in our budget to pay OT for for the super and porter two nights a week.

  Comment added October 29, 2022 7:19pm

• Rob Green

  This is just another rule that will raise money for some NYC department and continue to cause people to move out of NYC. We already have so many rules in place as homeowners.

  It would be much wiser to expend more effort towards fighting real crime, instead of finding ways to raise money by fining unaware and overburdened homeowners/taxpayers.

  Comment added October 31, 2022 12:38am

• James

  I too oppose this rule.

  I have to do my trash as well as my elderly mother’s. I fear that when travelling so late in the evening via the subway that I may get mugged or maimed.

  Comment added October 31, 2022 2:33pm

• Dee See Passmore

  I oppose this change as it will not address the issue of rats or other animals getting into the garbage. It only makes it more convoluted for NYC residents to comply with a ridiculous rule. For the elderly, religious people, and NYers, in general, to be told they must venture out after dark in the winter to put out the garbage is an undue hardship. If you pay someone to put out the garbage which is the case in many instances you will now have to pay more and possibly not get someone to take on the task. How will it help the issue if the garbage is allowed to pile up because one cannot put it out at a later time? Since the sanitation dept does not make sure your can lid stays with your can how can this be a means to comply with this proposed rule? Please go back to the drawing board and rethink this proposal.

  Comment added October 31, 2022 6:33pm

• Nataliya

  I oppose the proposal.
  It makes no sense since rats feed at night and garbage is not picked up until the following morning.
  The lids will be everywhere and will pose a hazard on the streets and sidewalk.
  It is also unsafe, especially for the elderly to put out the garbage so late in the dark especially in the cold winter months.

  Comment added October 31, 2022 10:52pm

• Ethan Krantz

  see attached comment

  Comment attachment
  Ethan-Krantz_Comment.pdf

  Comment added November 2, 2022 10:43pm

• Tina in Hatlem

  There are plenty of people who work nights. Let’s put garbage curbside between, say, 2-6 pm and the trucks can start pickup at six- as rush hour winds down and people still populate sidewalks- keeping down rat-traffic.
  Only the latest pickups will be vulnerable to any rats, so vary truck routes to spread out risks

  This way older folks, employees and others who can’t comply with such late hours or practice religious customs, won’t have to be so terribly impacted.
  Is there some rule against sanitation working at night?

  Comment added November 4, 2022 12:06pm

• Karen

  As several other people noted, most buildings, especially the smaller buildings, do not have live in staff. That means hiring either an additional person just to take out trash, or to pay overtime, as per the new prevailing wage rules. Whichever it is, it’s a burden on the buildings and for what? For a couple of hours less of garbage sitting on the street? Does any reasonable person think that’s going to make a difference? Hiring more sanitation workers makes sense. Having a regular schedule where trash gets picked up at approx. the same time makes sense. Our trash got picked up today as per normal. Same with paper recycling. The rest of our recycling is still sitting there, and probably will be until Saturday – that’s what happens almost every week. And finally, bring back composting for all buildings. That was a most unfortunate move – just as so many people got used to doing it. Now, whenever it returns, there will have to be a learning curve all over again.

  Comment added November 4, 2022 1:31pm

• Simone from Brooklyn

  I object to this proposal of property owners putting their containers with garbage out at the curb after 6 pm. Rationale:

  In the 1980’s it was the practice to put our garbage out in containers, But the sanitation workers would throw our garbage containers in their truck. This happened a lot.
  I saw this happening and when i ran the truck down the sanitation worker just shrugged his shoulder.
  My parents would come home and we had no garbage containers.
  Then many times we would see our neighbor’s garbage bins rolling in the street, cars would hit the bins and they would go sailing on to other blocks. I have seen garbage cans taken up by the wind, fly in the air and hit parked cars while the owner is away at work. Who is at fault? The owner left garbage in the cans, The owner has no control over wind lifting up objects, but now you have a damaged car.
  You came home and no garbage bins
  NYC residential trash rules state “Trash cans must be covered unless all refuse inside is in a securely tied bag”.
  If the trash cans must be covered, how do you want us to leave them at the curb??
  Now we will lose our trash containers and the covers
  How will they be secured at the curb?
  My neighbors and I have received sanitation tickets for uncovered trash cans in the past
  How do you write violation for uncovered trash receptacles and now will be asking us to put our containers to the curb???
  NYC sanitation requires us to secure our garbage bins. An agency cannot ask us to secure our garbage bins and then require us to leave them out at the curb to be all over the street

  I have lived in the same house and have seen the changes over 40 years
  4pm is late enough to put out garbage not later.

  Comment added November 4, 2022 2:08pm

• Angelo

  Iam a building superintendent in the Bronx. There is no way this rule is going to work. I have two porters and our work schedule is from 730 am till 4 pm. We are 32bj members. And there’s no way we going to work 8 plus hours overtime each every week. That’s 24 hours total. one of my porters live upstate. I think we should put out the trash no later than 8am and Sanatition should pick up by 9 am..also what would definitely be easier if sanitation picks up on alternate side parking..let’s say on Thursday is my side no parking then that day they pickup. That way no traffic jam. And traffic would be flowing smooth..I mean this is thought it’s better than what’s being proposed..

  Comment added November 5, 2022 2:35am

• Katherine Fritchie

  I live in Brooklyn and also in Spokane Washington. There, we have garbage trucks outfitted with an arm that picks up the trash cans (that the city provides) and dumps them into the truck. The lids are attached and just open when dumped. I never use plastic bags, which seems like a huge waste for the citizens of NY and also for landfills or wherever the trash is being taken. We are given three different colored bins, one for trash, one for recycling and one for clean green. The receptacles are on wheels so it’s easy to take the cans out and the cans are not something that a rat could chew through easily.
  We have mice and other rodents, but getting into the trash is not a problem we have with them.

  Comment added November 6, 2022 12:55pm

• JML

  I live in a Mitchell-Lama co-op in Manhattan with unionized (non-32BJ) maintenance employees. We have seven buildings on ten acres and over 1200 units. Our maintenance employees work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with limited staff on the weekends. It requires multiple maintenance men to collect all the garbage and place it at the curb. We don’t have the staff to put out the garbage late at night or between 4-7 a.m. The staff does not work at those times. It also isn’t safe for the men to be outside too late or too early. There are now too many homeless drug addicts wandering the streets.

  If this rule takes effect, we will have to pay multiple maintenance staff overtime to stay late just to put out the trash. This cost will get passed on to residents, who are already seeing maintenance increases due to inflation and other economic issues.

  Moreover, putting out the garbage a few hours later won’t stop the rats. The rats will have all night to feast on the garbage if they want. What is the difference of a few hours? It is non-nonsensical. I can’t understand how anyone could think this would help the rat problem. If you want to do something about the rats then you need to:

  1. Stop people from feeding the pigeons. People dump bird seed, rice, and other leftover food to feed the pigeons, when all it does is feed the rats;

  2. Make sure nearby parks are clean of food. Too many homeless drug addicts spill or dump food in parks, all for the rats to enjoy;

  3. Make sure garbage cans on street corners are picked up and are not overflowing; and

  4. Make sure the streets in front of bars, $1 pizza places, and other party places are kept clean and are not littered with food.

  Comment added November 7, 2022 10:07pm

• Henry Y

  The I am a business owner working part time. I leave the office by 5 so I would not be able to place my trash out at 8. The option of putting the trash out at 5 in a container with a lid does not work as I am not always in the office the next day to bring the container in; this would lead to a summons for not bringing my container in.
  There are more and more of these seemingly harmless rules that in fact place a greater and greater burden on the citizens of NYC. The proposed rules for trash is another regulation that will drive people out of NYC. I for one am l looking at retiring sooner rather than later due to all these “harmless” regulations. The outcome? Less tax revenue for the city, less employment, less renters of commercial property.

  Comment added November 8, 2022 2:58pm

• Joel

  Right now, if I leave garbage bags out on the curb after 4pm, the garbage men pick them up sometime between 6am to 9am the next morning. So with this new regulation that I have to now put out the same garbage bags out on the curb starting at 8pm, it’s best to change all the garbage men hours to night time shifts so that they can pick up all those bags between 10pm to 1am instead. So problem solved with the rats issue!!!

  Comment added November 9, 2022 11:31pm

• S. Cunningham

  Who puts these crazy ideas out there? Are you just trying to push everyone out of this once great City? Rats are nocturnal; mostly active during nighttime hours; dusk to dawn. That being said this idea makes no sense.

  Small property owners/absentee owners (like myself) who may or may not have a part time helper generally work until 4:00PM where the last chore of the day is to put the trash to the curb. In this instance, what are we to do; work until 6PM or 8PM for an idea that will NOT decrease the rat population? How are Sanitation workers going to drag the cans to the back of the garbage trucks? There is barely enough room to walk between parked cars let alone get a trash can between them.

  Creation of unnecessary noise pollution- by having trash picked up after midnight will be a sleep disruption for hundreds of thousands of people. Hard working citizens and their families will be woken up in the wee hours of the morning by the sounds of loud garbage trucks loading and compacting trash. School children’s sleep will be interrupted; this “graveyard shift” trash pick-up is wrong!

  Some solutions- the City needs to exterminate for rats in the street and subway system. Less people are using the subway system which means less trash in the subway, therefore the rats are forced out of the subway and into the street to seek food. This is exactly what happened during COVID! Restaurants were closed and rats migrated into residential areas in search of food; not a theory, a fact. If the City wants the trash on the street for less time it’s very simple. Keep the same time the trash goes to the curb; 4PM-5PM. Have the Sanitation Department pick up the trash on a 4PM to midnight shift. Closely monitor missed collections. I can tell you from personally experience at least two to three times per month there is a missed collection in my area, not just my trash but the entire block and adjoining blocks.

  Eliminate restaurant street sheds- these sheds only create a haven for rats to nest and feed off the food that falls underneath the shed. Obviously the street sweeper cannot clean the street with these eye sores still in place. The City needs to enforce alternate side street parking. You drive throughout the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area, for example, and cars are illegally parked for alternate side and are not ticketed. Each side of street needs to be cleaned twice a week.

  In closing, there are more negative reasons than positive ones to go forward with this “silly” idea. I believe these ideas are put on the table by people that have no “hands on” experience. I have yet to read one positive reaction to this idea on the Sanitation forum. This is just a horrible idea that will inconvenience more people and will have nearly no impact on reducing rats in the city.

  The only way to reduce the rat population is to exterminate for rats!

  S. Cunningham

  Comment added November 10, 2022 10:40am

• AW

  see my attached word doc

  Comment attachment
  trash.docx

  Comment added November 11, 2022 12:03pm

• Deborah Hersch Johns

  I sincerely appreciate the efforts made by all City agencies, employees, residents, businesses, organizations, and guests in trying to solve this issue.

  It appears that the overwhelming view is against the proposed changes, and seemingly not without good reason. Unlike congestion pricing, where people are understandably resistant but the proposal would actually help toward its goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions, I believe the proposed Sanitation rule changes would have minimal effect on rat activity.

  In addition to the thoughtful comments and suggestions made by concerned New Yorkers and businesses here and through public comment submissions, as well as the City agencies’ earnest efforts, we could possibly try:

  Continuing to expand curbside organics collection to include the entire city, making it mandatory or continuing to work toward it, possibly giving modest tax breaks or other incentives to residences/businesses that comply. Announcing an estimated date that organics recycling would become mandatory, and giving incentives for participation in advance of compulsory compliance.

  Finding new ways to promote awareness of the direct link between our organized as well as personal trash disposal practices and the increasing presence of rats. Launching a campaign that illustrates our dysfunctional relationship with rats. We react with disgust to their presence, yet continue to invite them over for dinner. Creating a hotline for people reaching out for help with these rattachments. Expanding mental health benefits to include therapy for this condition (Co-Ratpendency). Creating a 12-step program (RAA) to help sufferers get support and confront their rat partners expressly where they might show up, i.e., church and other basements. Getting the message across that refusing to engage in organics recycling is guaranteeing that we will continue to engage with our active rat. If the City helps make this clear, as well as expand curbside collection for community boards across the city, participation in organics recycling will likely increase, our incentive being that we can get the rat off our backyard and let it go.

  Making Rat Academy mandatory for all New Yorkers, or at least property owners, building managers/staff/union organizers, DOE/charter/private school principals/staff, school parent organizations. Increasing outreach/education regarding rat prevention/mitigation, continuing to provide incentives for participation.

  Making part of the rat complaint reporting process requesting permission for optional additional information after the complaint is logged — is the person aware that NYC has a food waste recycling program; do they separate their food scraps; would they like info or help signing up for curbside organics collection or finding food scrap drop-off sites. Educating New Yorkers who may not realize they might be contributing to the problem; empowering New Yorkers to become part of the solution.

  Working to eliminate black bags by providing bins with lids, preferably metal rather than plastic, to all City residents/buildings; giving modest tax breaks or other incentives to residents/businesses that use them. Revisiting the possibility of retrofitting Sanitation vehicles to pick up/empty bins mechanically.

  After a grace period, issuing warnings/fines, allowing New Yorkers who receive violations the opportunity to appeal if Sanitation may be deemed at fault.

  Providing dog poop bag receptacles throughout the city. Issuing warnings/fines to dog owners/walkers who place poop bags wherever they feel it’s convenient for them. Increasing outreach/education on the consequence of attracting rats by this continued behavior. Identify a day for dog owners/walkers to drop off their poop bags in exchange for an I Disposed of My Poop Correctly NYC or My Poop Isn’t Rat Food NYC dog tag.

  Increasing enforcement of littering and illegal dumping warnings/fines by a special Sanitation Task Force.

  Outreach/education/warnings/fines regarding the hazards of feeding wildlife, such as birds and squirrels, with the resulting excess becoming a ratfeastation.

  Thank you kindly for your time, efforts, consideration and attention.

  Comment added November 12, 2022 5:56pm

• P from Brooklyn

  I say no to the later time of 6 pm to put out garbage out. New York City does not provide good street lighting. NYC goes through Daylight Savings Time and Eastern Standard time. We have many months when it gets dark at 4:30pm. If NYC does not provide adequate street lighting on our streets, it is not safe for us to be putting out garbage in the dark, We cannot see to separate our recycling in the dark
  So we should not be asked to put out garbage after 6 pm.
  There is an increasing over 50 years population in NYC. This is will be a safety hazard.

  Comment added November 12, 2022 8:25pm

• Joanna P.

  I strongly oppose this rule change.

  This would require home owners, small building owners, and anyone in charge of taking out the trash for friends, family, or an elderly parent or neighbor to venture out in the dark, late at night to comply with these new rules.
  As a woman, I certainly do not feel comfortable being forced to commute so late at night to set out the garbage for my tenants.
  As a hospital worker that occasionally works night shifts, the new time constraints would render me unable to set out my garbage at all without hiring someone else or getting ticketed for being early.
  It is unreasonable to expect everyone to comply with such a drastic rule change. This will not solve the rat problem, but rather make it worse when garbage ends up hoarded week to week by people unable to comply with the timing being proposed. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter to a rodent if my garbage can is placed curbside or within my yard at any given time, but it matters a lot to the members of the community. This is a massive inconvenience to the community, as voiced by several comments and testimonies.

  I suggest alternative rodent control methods such as increased street cleaning. Perhaps hiring people to sweep sidewalks, emptying public garbage bins regularly, or requiring restaurants to hose down their sidewalks of spilled condiments and liquids after having their rubbish collected. Personally, I think these would make a beneficial impact in my local community, as these are issues I witness on a daily basis.

  Comment added November 13, 2022 3:02pm

• John

  While I appreciate the initiative to solve the city’s rat problem, this is not the solution. Rather than burdening small business owners with having to pay extra to have the garbage put out later or have to travel themselves, why not have the garbage collected early (or timely) which would actually shorten the amount of time trash is curbside?

  I have noted on many occasions the trash just sitting in front of my home and building the entire day! Putting it out later will not help the rat problem in the city. Having the trash collection collect it timely basis or on an earlier schedule would be a better solution without burdening homeowners and have a greater impact on the issues facing NYC for the last year +. Asking home owners to put their trash out later will only led to the trash being picked up later, it will not actually reduce the time which the trash is out.

  Thank you,
  John

  Comment added November 14, 2022 11:12am

• CM (South Queens)

  Question regarding new trash time.

  This is hypothetical but I’m sure it can apply to somebody.

  Let’s say I work from 6 PM to 3 AM, I have to leave by 5 PM. I know Sanitation pickups in my area between 1 & 2 AM. There is no one else to put out the trash.

  What am I supposed to do?
  Will I get a violation if I put it out at 5 PM?

  The 8 PM time to set everything out is geared to people who work 9-5. This is NYC, not everyone works from 9-5. What about evening and overnight residents?

  Comment added November 15, 2022 12:56pm

• JW Lower Manhattan

  This proposal is silly. Moving the trash put out time by a few hours will do nothing to help with the pest issue & cleanliness of the city. It would make more sense if (1) DSNY would pick up the trash on time, (2) the time trash is put out was close the time DSNY picks up the trash so there is less lag time in between.

  Comment added November 15, 2022 1:11pm

• Rich

  Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

  When I was younger I needed to obtain a food handlers license for my job.
  At the time, I was required to go to the health department and watch a film. The film showed garbage including food waste breaking down with bacteria multiplying exponentially while leaving excrement in its wake. The decomposition/bacteria excrement odor is a clarion call to vermin(rodentia) and insects. Garbage/trash containing any organic/food matter will begin to break down and send out a massive “soups on”/”dinners ready”/”come and get it” signal to bugs, mice and rats both near and far. (Composting can work in single family homes and in the city if there are community drop-off sites, but not inside or outside of central city residential or commercial buildings as many people are not neat and it will draw bugs/rodents to the area by their inattention to maintenance and unsanitary conditions).

  SO, when this proposed rule change was advanced, I wondered if the people writing the rule knew what would happen if it was actually implemented.

  If you make this rule law (and if we were in a position physically and financially to follow it) – you would force us to keep the smelly garbage inside our buildings with the children and seniors for a longer period of time. In many cases it would be stored in the basement which is conveniently adjacent to the rat tunnels whose veins course throughout the city. This will give additional time to nocturnal rodents to snoop around in the dark basements for the nourishment that we provide to them so they can multiply. Or, we could store it in front of our buildings in wooden, plastic or metal containers. Then the rats would not be at the curb or in the basement, they would be right at the building facade near the front door. People walking by love to help by adding to the piles of trash including sugary drinks, dog poo and fast food leftovers placed in the open right on the lids. Not at the curb, but leaning on the building just a few feet from where you are proposing to keep the sidewalk clean.

  Unfortunately, your well-intentioned proposal is similar to moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. But in NYC parlance, it’s almost exactly the same as Three-Card Monte or a shell game. Hey, rats – can you find the garbage? Is it by the curb? How about the basement? No, it’s over here – in front of the building. You are almost literally sweeping the problem under the rug. Less rats by the curb, more rats by the kids, especially the less advantaged and lower income.

  Possible Solutions –
  Be the “no garbage mayor”. No other city official has ever succeeded in taming the trash. Do it because you can. You self-cured diabetes. You reinvented ice cream (it’s really good :). You fought injustice from the inside and won many victories. Beat garbage because you can –

  Here’s how:
  After police/fire/safety, prioritize garbage near the top of the budget. I was sent on a field trip as a kid to the Staten Island Zoo. I think that kids (especially less-advantaged kids with limited building workers) would much prefer that the city would have collected all the smelly trash every day then look at animals in cages for a few hours. Cancel every unnecessary item in every departmental budget. Stop handing out money like candy to win the favor of a lucky few. How about helping millions over decades with permanent infrastructure instead of squandering it on temporary band-aids? Who built New York? Long-term thinkers who cared more about the many in the future than the few today. They built Central Park for people they would never meet. Who is helping the future generations? Put in the infrastructure necessary to remove all the garbage from Manhattan and the urban centers of the boroughs each day. Yes, every commercial and multi-family residential property should have the garbage picked up each day. Our NYC budget is approximately 100 BILLION DOLLARS. The only reason that we have any garbage on the city streets at all is a lack of imagination. You can always find something that seems worthwhile to fix, but the trick is to do the most for the most with what you have available.

  Additionally, you may not think of it this way, but, you are using each building in NYC as a waste storage and transfer station – and charging us a monthly fee to boot! You are making us store and create unsanitary and unsafe situations for only one reason: You have not made the removal of trash from the city EVERY DAY a #1 priority.

  Until you do, the city and its buildings will be unsanitary and the department is a failure. Not the people who work there who are just following instructions – but the leaders, yes. If the city is unsanitary and it is – then the Department of Sanitation cannot be considered successful. This has been the case prior to your administration and prior to the tenure of current Sanitation leaders as well.

  Inertia and momentum in an adverse direction can be hard to change. But what good thing has come easy to you or this City? The job of city government is to be facilitators. To set the table so the people can live and work. As an entrepreneur, you already inherently know this.
  It’s not about imposing rules on the citizens, it’s about setting the citizens free to create and prosper by making the city safe and clean without fanfare, in a simple programatic way.

  Specifics-
  Set up a multi-prong approach with many discrete solutions.
  1) Are the Sandhogs done with the water tunnel? Let’s start a garbage tunnel. Get them in there to begin to create the infrastructure to add a system similar to the one Roosevelt Island has (but updated). Do something that future generations will be proud of. Just like fios, buildings can connect to it as it reaches their block over time. Every time a building connects, there will be no need to place garbage outside at all.

  2) Supplement the pneumatic garbage tubes with garbage trains.
  Move some of the trash on currently unused, newly created or existing subway lines that can haul trash to transfer stations. Buy small buildings like the air shaft buildings dotted throughout the city so trucks can pull in – change batteries and dump their trash into a hopper for the next garbage subway train.

  3) Lease or buy a landfill site which can contain a large energy co-generation (garbage to power) plant and solar farm. Create an RFP that will only be responded to by municipalities that want us there – no nimbys. It can use the trash to generate electricity and the solar farm can create and store energy in a battery farm that can power electric garbage trucks that go there and back with no pollution. Maybe Elon Musk can help regarding the electric garbage trucks/solar panels/storage batteries and even the tunneling. Be bold! He’s busy, but if you think he won’t take a call from the mayor of New York, guess again.

  4) Add more trucks to the “Avenues”. We need to pick up trash from the corner waste baskets on a constant and consistent basis. We WANT people to throw their trash in there – otherwise they just throw it on the street. This is not a job that is ever finished. It’s an ongoing and never-ending task. Right now it’s an embarrassment that they get full and overflow. The reason people sometimes throw their own trash in there is that they are forced to store rotting garbage in their home, business or basement like animals (actually animals don’t usually live with their garbage, perhaps with the exception of pigs). We need to pick up all the corner garbage all the time. The city looks highly dysfunctional to residents and visitors alike. You mean in 2022 we can’t keep the trash cans on the corners clean? Yeah, actually we can if we apply focus to the issue.

  5) Consider supplementing DSNY with outside vendors. Pay everyone in DSNY what they were promised and keep the existing employees, but there may be a need for outside help as well to achieve all the goals related to moving the city to the next level in this area. Remember, after the garbage is picked up each day from Manhattan and other urban city centers, there will be much less garbage for anyone to pick up each day. Less garbage in the buildings and less garbage in front of the buildings. So, we’ll need some flexibility in terms of scaling up and scaling down depending on the garbage flow. I don’t think we can hire additional permanent city employees for this because we will need significant scheduling flexibility. This flexibility is easier to achieve through a vendor process which identifies this requirement up front than it would be to do this though the maze of civil service rules.

  6) Buy, lease or convert an existing motor-home type vehicle for use as a mobile Mayoral daily command center. You may already have such a vehicle.
  This command center should allow you to conduct all your regular Mayoral business whilst visiting every block in the city. This may not be an every day exercise for you based on your schedule but we are in a mobile-first society, so accomplishing work on the fly is a part of the new reality. You should be accompanied (in their own trucks) by a recycling and trash team (including a rotation of Sanitation Department leadership). It is likely that by their attendance and help, the DSNY will gain a tremendous amount of information from this daily activity which they can convert into actionable ideas to improve cleanliness and service. Each block that you go to could have all the street/sidewalk trash picked up by your team as you visit with some of the merchants and residents. You may want to personally let them know that you and your team are doing some cleaning today on their block and thank them for anything that they can do to help in the future. As you move through the city block by block, I believe that you and your constituents will derive immense pleasure from the immediate results of your/their efforts. Put out a call for a rotational part-time volunteer brigade to accompany you to help clean up the blocks that you visit. You may be surprised how many people want to help keep the city clean. My guess is that your team will have more volunteers than you can use each day. Especially in underserved and lower-income areas, this will show that you care and may inspire residents and businesses to continue the clean-up effort even after you’re gone. Leadership is needed in this area and is best provided by you. What makes people feel good about themselves and their city is real, tangible, highly visible PROGRESS. Getting something done, not talking about it, doing it.

  Do NOT include anyone on the team whose job it is to hand out “violations”.
  This is a goodwill and inspirational accomplishment tour. If you knew how the people felt about a department that does not meet basic standards sending enforcement officers (whose salaries are paid for by the citizens) out to charge citizens for minor rule infractions as the judge, jury and executioner, while they leave the cities cleanliness in its current state, you’d find a way to stop it now.

  7) Part of your new proposed rules include the use of containers. Containers like garbage cans roll around the streets, are stolen, look horrible and add significantly to noise complaints. They wind up making the street look like something from the 1920’s. People chain them to the railings and they become dirty almost immediately. They also mean that everyone (especially buildings with little or no staff) need to make additional trips to try and find the containers and lock them up. But they don’t know when to go back to the building because they can’t be sure when the garbage will have been picked up. Containers and sheds like those in front of most smaller midblock buildings are a harborage for rodents. Please don’t ask for more containers. They are almost immediately food encrusted and dirtied by passersby and residents alike despite efforts to maintain them. Please don’t ask us to store trash in or around our homes and businesses. Take away the trash every day so citizens can live their lives in dignity.

  Please don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. Until the new infrastructure is ready and instead of the new proposed list of rules and regulations, how would this be?

  1) We place our garbage in black bags by the curb every day from daybreak until 9AM.
  2) You pick up the garbage every day by 3PM

  No garbage in the buildings, no garbage out at night when nocturnal creatures roam, no dirty containers, smooth traffic flow due to limited amounts of trash each day as it is spread out over the week, less noise-peace.

  Thanks for your consideration,
  Rich

  Comment attachment
  NYC-trash-proposed-garbage-rules-November-16-2022-.pdf

  Comment added November 16, 2022 12:01pm

• Robyn Siegel

  I appreciate these issues are getting addresses, and until we have proper containerization, it’ll definitely a positive to have “trashbag mountain-free” sidewalks from 4 pm to 8 pm. However, as a rat mitigation strategy, I wonder if this will have much impact? How much rat activity occurs during these hours, given that they are nocturnal animals? Bags will still be out for 10+ hours and during their most active hours.

  I know other measures are occurring as well, which will help. But, is it enough?

  Additionally, I know steps are being taken to study how best to implement proper containerization, however, this should be prioritized and expedited with much more urgency, as it really is the main and only solution for these issues.

  And, in the interim, I do ask why continue to allow items to be put out in bags, at all? Why not require receptacles with tight-fitting lids across the board?

  Lastly, what will be done to address the challenges in enforcement to ensure compliance? Education is great and important but insufficient.

  Thank you

  Comment added November 16, 2022 2:57pm

• West P

  I spoke to my porter about this rule and he absolutely hates it. He said he wants to put our the trash and be able to get back home at a reasonable time to have dinner with his family. More effective means to reducing pest include (I) DSNY should be better on picking up trash on-time, (II) Ensuring all outside garbage are placed in tightly sealed bins, (III) Regulate outdoor dining to ensure spaces are kept tidy & clean. Many restaurants and bars just sweep the food scrap down the block & have have created garbage bins that are on the street 24/7 that are often overflowing. I see rats running in and out of these bins.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 10:00am

• Robyn Siegel

  Please also streamline and improve bringing curbside composting to buildings with 10+ units. As a rat mitigation strategy, in addition to all of the myriad other benefits (and as a solution to other issues).

  Comment added November 17, 2022 11:26am

• Vanie (Queens)

  I dont want my elderly mother putting out garbage after dark, especially in the winter.

  It’s not lost on anyone and not appreciated that NYC is once again making rules that only sets up home owners to fail. It’s another way to create revenue from all the fines the city will happily hand out.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 3:05pm

• Briana Spariosu

  RSA comments are attached.

  Comment attachment
  RSA-Rodent-Mitigation-Amendments.pdf

  Comment added November 17, 2022 3:34pm

• 2041 HDFC

  Echoing many of the comments made previously and reinforcing the concern that thousands of affordable housing buildings in this city – with 1 million + tenants will be impacted financially due to having to pay additional maintenance staff, or worse, impacting current staff hours and livelihoods. Our porters are people who have families and need to be home to take care of their children. They do their jobs during traditional business hours. The reverberating economic impact of this proposed rule on working class people should be taken into account and a more innovative solution should be considered.
  Where is the data that shows the positive impact of this proposed change? Why not try a small pilot for an area that doesn’t have any of these concerns?

  Comment added November 17, 2022 4:01pm

• Helen

  I don’t want to put out garbage after dark.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 4:55pm

• F.l.

  I oppose this change.
  The homeowner are the person who put out the garbage, the city should listen to the voice from them.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 5:13pm

• Jessica Leung

  I don’t want to put out garbage after dark.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 5:42pm

• Ning

  This change is meaningless. Just force people to sleep few hours later and let people get more tired the next day. Dumping out few hours later may increase the volume of garbage, which giving more works to sanitation workers. Dumping out few hours later may decrease quality of life because people can’t take care of the garbage before they enjoy their nightlife.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 5:51pm

• Jess

  It is hard for us that we work night shift.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 5:57pm

• Rachel

  As a business owner whose shop closes earlier than the proposed times this proposed change places an unfair burden. I either have to stay hours later or pay an employee to do so. Or will the City shoulder that extra cost for me?

  Comment added November 17, 2022 6:25pm

• Kate

  The extra work you are giving small property owners will do nothing to lower the rat problem. Is there data or studies suggesting that moving trash from one location to another will make a difference? Nope. The overflowing public trash bins and street litter cause a 24/7 problem and nothing is done to address that. These new regulations hand off meaningless work to citizens but do nothing to solve the problem.

  Comment attachment
  Confirmation-for-preregistration-for-visiting-Iceland.pdf

  Comment added November 17, 2022 7:02pm

• JinYue you

  I am required keeping same time as before 4pm

  Comment added November 17, 2022 7:06pm

• Johnny Rocket

  I am a resident of Brooklyn district 10. This idea to place trash out after 8pm is terrible and outrageous.
  I go to sleep early and cannot wake until 8pm to sleep, how can I take out trash when I am already sleeping.
  Government officials should not tell us when to do this and when to do that.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 7:54pm

• Anita C.

  I oppose this rule change. As several people have already pointed out, putting out waste a few hours later and still letting them sit out overnight is not solving the issues of (1) unsightly piles of waste, (2) obstruction of sidewalks, (3) smells, (4) sidewalk cleanliness, and (5) rats feasting on the waste before they are picked up. The best solution to solving the issue of rats eating through the bags of trash to get to the food is to have universal curbside composting where the organic waste is placed inside sturdy sealed bins. When the organic waste is taken out of normal “trash”, what you have left would attract rats much less..maybe it is still a warmer place for them to stay in but it will not contain food for them to eat.

  Simply pushing the time when waste is put out on the curb in residential and commercial areas is just inconveniencing people who are less mobile, people who feel unsafe at night, business owners, and building staff, etc. On top of having organic waste collection, starting waste collection earlier such as evenings after rush hours where possible would cut down the time waste is on the street significantly and not have it sit overnight. I often see commercial waste collection at night and it is easier for them to make their way around and not get stuck in traffic. Angelo, who commented earlier, had an interesting point about utilizing alternate side parking for smoother waste pickup. When car owners comply, streets with alternate side parking should be empty for a certain duration so sanitation workers can ideally access the waste that needs to be collected more easily. This will also make it possible for every waste stream to be in secure bins (something that I heard was difficult for sanitation workers to accommodate in some cases because the bins can’t fit between parked cars). Proper education and enforcement on how to separate organics, recyclables, and trash is crucial. There are many cases where residents and businesses may not comply with rules, but on the other hand there are many accounts of missed pickups and mistreatment of bins and lids so there really needs to be sweeping accountability for all parties.

  Comment added November 17, 2022 8:11pm

• Xiao Yang

  No change

  Comment added November 18, 2022 4:38am

• Xiao Yang

  Keep 4:00pm

  Comment added November 18, 2022 4:39am

• Li REN

  Don’t change, keep 4pm.

  Comment added November 18, 2022 9:08am

• Li qing fang

  保持下午4点 [Keep the time at 4 PM]

  Comment added November 18, 2022 9:25am

• myrtle smith

  Dangerous to put trash out at 8PM in NYC. I tried cans they disappear or blow away.

  Comment added November 18, 2022 10:32am

• Claire Hilger

  See attached comments

  Comment attachment
  WSFSSH-Comments-Rat-Plan.docx

  Comment added November 18, 2022 11:35am

• Sara Schoenwetter

  I oppose the proposal to change the earliest time garbage may be placed at the curb. First, the proposed rules do not address whether recyclable yard waste in large leaf bags, recyclable paper and recyclable metal, glass, and plastic in clear plastic bags, and recyclable cardboard tied in bundles, all as allowed by current regulations, could be placed outside at 6 pm when trash and compostables in closed, lidded containers may be placed at the curb. Would a homeowner with a bag of leaves have to wait until 8 pm to place it at the curb if trash in containers could be put at the curb at 6 pm? Second, I agree with the comments you have already received that the change in time from 4 pm to 8 pm will cause a hardship for many seniors, among whose number I and my husband are counted, who do not want to traverse darkened sidewalks dragging their garbage cans, compost bins, and bags of recyclables to the curb when standard time kicks in.

  Comment added November 18, 2022 1:48pm

• allison allen

  I am a member of the MSWAB (Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board) and Chair of its Organics Committee. It was puzzling to watch the Mayor’s Press Conference, on October 17, introducing this new rule where he clearly stated how he hates rats and how rats will hate this new rule. This new rule does nothing to remove the rat’s food from black plastic garbage bags. They will now just be placed out later – at 8pm instead of 4pm. I understand that less people will be out on the streets at 8 vs 4pm, so they will see less rats. But the rat food is still there and no one is talking or doing anything about that.

  No one is acknowledging that the city actually has a program that is specifically designed to remove rat food from plastic garbage bags and divert it into rat proof brown bins as part of DSNY’s curbside composting program. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of talk about how we need to focus on containerizing waste – just put the same black plastic garbage bags filled with rat food into a container to solve the problem. Why is no one talking about how we should actually focus on removing the rat food from garbage bags as the first step?

  This simple message needs to be made loud and clear. If you don’t like to see rats, if you have a complaint about rats, you should enroll in the DSNY curbside composting program ASAP, if you are lucky enough to live in the 7 districts currently receiving service (plus all of Queens). Just as important, you should help pass Intro Bill #244 (mandatory city wide curbside compost collection), so that all New Yorkers can start diverting the rat food into DSNY’s rat proof brown bins.

  Disappointing that the city would spend $4M for a consultant to study containerization when we have an existing rat food containerization program with the curbside composting program. The city could have chosen to fast track this program instead of delaying it. That $4M could have gone a long way towards expanding and promoting curbside composting. Once we actually remove the rat food from plastic garbage bags – and if we would focus on improving recycling overall and even add textile recycling – we would have much fewer bags in need of containerization to begin with – possibly close to 50% fewer bags (or more)! Not sure why that is not a priority for funding and attention.

  DSNY and DOH (with their Rat Portal and Academy) should be partnering to a much greater extent, to make the connection between rats and the compost program. It makes absolutely no sense that there is so little, if any, cross promotion. The Mayor needs to get those agencies working together so when people call 311 with rat complaints and when DOH sends out communications related to rats – it all includes information and reasons why people should enroll in the compost program. That could be done at minimal, if any, cost.

  As no one is making the strong connection between rat food and the compost program, the MSWAB will be announcing its Rat Food Reduction Plan shortly to encourage New Yorkers to compost as part of rat mitigation. For more information, or to join us, please contact us via our website or [email protected].

  There are also other reasons for not supporting this rule, as it reduces the opportunity for reuse of the countless items that are placed out for garbage that are not really garbage – just no longer wanted by the current owner. If the city moves forward with this plan, they must dedicate resources to addressing reusables and repairables in the waste stream – which should be included in the current waste characterization study.

  Comment added November 18, 2022 2:25pm

• Benjamin Spero

  I writing because I’m in opposition to Mayor Adam’s plan and the Sanitation Commissioner to change the time for the curbside trash collection from 4:00PM to 6:00PM and 8:00PM starting next spring. I saw the Mayor complain on the news about all the rats from the garbage and I totally agree but this problem is coming from the apartment buildings. It is the apartment buildings that the Mayor and the Sanitation Commissioner should be targeting, instead they are punishing the whole city changing everybody’s time to take out the trash at the curbside. I live in a private home and I’ve been taking out the trash at 4:00PM on my collection days for many years and I never had a problem with the garbage. I knew someone who lived in an apartment building and this person saw people in the building throw their trash out of the window. This is how you get all the rats. I’m sure you will agree. People in private homes don’t act like this and throw trash out the window. This is the reason I’m writing this letter hoping Mayor Adams and the Sanitation Commissioner will reconsider their new curbside plan and instead go after all these apartment buildings in NYC and order them to take the trash out between 6:00PM and 8:00PM. I think this would be only fair to NYC residents. Thank you for reading my concerns.

  Comment added November 18, 2022 3:53pm

• Gabriela Sandoval Requena

  Thank you, Commissioner Tisch for the opportunity to comment on the Department of Sanitation’s proposed rule on behalf of New Destiny Housing.

  Founded in 1994, New Destiny Housing is a New York City-based nonprofit committed to ending the cycle of violence for low-income families and individuals experiencing homelessness and domestic violence. We build and manage supportive, affordable housing and through our rapid rehousing program, HousingLink, we connect survivors with safe, permanent housing. New Destiny also advocates for housing resources for domestic violence survivors and their families. We are a member of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD).

  As an affordable housing developer and operator, we urge you to strongly consider our input as the administration makes changes to the regulations affecting the hours property owners and managers are able to place trash at the curb for collection.

  While we support efforts to mitigate rat infestations throughout the city, the approach presented by the proposed rule would disrupt everyday management and tenant services and cause financial hardship for nonprofits operating affordable housing. Inflation, increasing interest rates and insurance premiums, and reduced rent payments during the COVID-19 pandemic are just some examples of the economic headwinds we are faced with. Limiting the times residential buildings can place trash curbside will represent an unfunded mandate and will force us to extend hours or hire additional staff, which implies additional expenses. Nonprofit landlords already operate on extremely thin margins. We urge the administration to grant special consideration and assistance to those who develop and manage permanent affordable homes for New Yorkers in need. This support can be in the form of waivers that allow for flexibility, special funding to hire additional staff, and lidded receptacles for solid waste and recyclables free of charge.

  New Destiny echoes ANHD’s concerns that the proposal will negatively impact the rate at which affordable housing is created in the city. This policy will increase the cost to operate buildings and lead to the decrease of total number of new affordable units over the coming years. Given how much of a priority increasing the affordable housing stock is to the administration, we strongly urge you to consider the feedback of nonprofit developers and operators on this proposed rule.

  We appreciate your efforts to address this challenging issue facing our city and look forward to working with you on a solution that balances the interests of these critical citywide priorities. We welcome any questions you may have.

  Gabriela Sandoval Requena
  Senior Policy Analyst at New Destiny Housing

  Comment attachment
  New-Destiny-Comments-DSNY-November-18-2022.pdf

  Comment added November 18, 2022 4:52pm

• Elizabeth Cooper

  I write on behalf of the five owners of our Brooklyn condo to oppose the plan to shift the time at which we can put out trash from 4 to 8 pm. We rely on a part-time worker to assist with our garbage management. While she is able to come at 4 pm, when it is light and safe, we expect that she would be unable to come at 8 pm–long after she is home for the night with her family. We are confident that we are among many New Yorkers who would face this bind.
  If we believed this policy would actually help with rat mitigation, we might feel differently. In reality, rats are nocturnal and they won’t be coming out until after dark–meaning, they aren’t out at 4 pm! It is very hard to see how there is anything to be gained from this proposed policy; at the same time, it will cause significant problems for those of us striving to keep our properties and city sidewalks clean and rat-free. Thank you for your consideration.

  Comment added November 18, 2022 4:54pm

• Howard

  How do you plan to deal with vagrants who open up your garbage and create a mess? What about people dumping garbage on your property? Why are you fining the landlord? Landlords are not rats.

  Comment added November 21, 2022 11:01am