“Hopefully that’s true and that the problem can be solved because it’s very difficult.”
According to José Ciprián, who has been collecting trash in Washington Heights for more than 22 years, the crowded sidewalks and overflowing dumpsters on every corner appear to have gotten worse since the pandemic.
“Mice live by eating car wires. Every time I collect the garbage, I always have to change the bags again every day, because after recycling they eat them again,” said Ciprián.
And it is that $14.5 million, included in this fiscal year’s budget, will go towards keeping every corner of the city clean, according to Mayor Eric Adams. Ciprián, on the other hand, says it’s almost impossible.
Cyprian.
“Right now I’m picking up 20 bags and tomorrow it’s double because it’s too much. Because right now people are buying a lot of things like cartons, on the internet and the trash is double what it was before,” explained Ciprián.
According to the mayor, the “Get Stuff Clean” initiative aims to provide a better quality of life for the city’s 8.8 million residents. The Department of Sanitation, for its part, says it is working with other agencies to identify parts that have experienced deficiencies in cleanliness, both in garbage collection and trash service.
“Begin calling us the city that always sweeps!
“Today we announce a $14.5 million investment to keep our streets clean and create an interagency partnership that #GetStuffClean will improve the quality of life for 8.8 million New Yorkers,” the mayor wrote in a social media post. .
Start calling us the city that always sweeps!
Today we announced a $14.5 million investment to keep our streets clean and create an interagency partnership that will #GetStuffClean — improve the quality of life of 8.8 million New Yorkers.
Details: https://t.co/bN6gimllHO pic.twitter.com/NHDH6lvRnp
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) November 10, 2022
“New Yorkers are tired of overflowing trash cans, trash under overpasses, and there’s no reason America’s biggest city can’t be America’s cleanest city,” said Vince Gragnani, spokesperson of the sanitation department.
The initiative that will come into force next Monday provides the following:
– Hired 200 new housekeeping employees
-Night shifts to clean and mitigate rats within city parks
-Cleaning of highway entrance and exit ramps, as well as bridges and park edges.
-Extend the use of security cameras against illegal dumping.
According to 311 data, this year litter complaints have increased by 36% and rodent complaints have increased by 70%.
They will also focus on the regular cleanup of approximately 1,500 “no man’s land” areas that have been abandoned throughout the city and that previous governments have placed under the jurisdiction of other city entities lacking cleanup resources.
