BY JACK DWECK
On Tuesday, September 19th, Mayor Adams appeared outside of Gray’s Papaya at W 72nd Street and Broadway to call attention to the city’s new sanitation rules alongside Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Gray’s Papaya is one of the first restaurants to adapt to these new changes.
“Not only will we continue to be the safest big city in America,” said Mayor Adams. “We are going to be the cleanest big city in America.”
One of the biggest sanitation problems New York City is dealing with is its number of rats, which Mayor Adams refers to as “Public Enemy #1.” On August 21st, the city was estimated to have approximately 3 million rats, this being a 50% increase from the last decade.
To combat this, Mayor Adams made an announcement about garbage bags, which he refers to as “Public Enemy #2.” In March of 2024, piles of garbage bags being left on the side of the road will be banned. Mayor Adams also said that instead, businesses will now have to containerize their trash inside of bins. This is an especially important change for food businesses, as it could lower the potential for rats. Businesses who do not follow this new rule will initially receive a warning, which could turn into a citation if they still do not containerize their trash.
Containerizing garbage has proven to be beneficial, and has been adopted by cities across the globe. Amsterdam has been using an underground version of these bins since 2020. These bins are opened by use of a card scanner and store people’s trash bags underground. The trash is later picked up by a truck that uses a mechanical crane arm to lift up the bin and the container below it, and dumps the trash inside. This method helps protect the trash from raccoons and other rodents.
Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch followed up on Mayor Adam’s announcements by bringing up the state’s “third enemy:” the status quo that allows the city to be full of litter and rats rather than to take common-sense steps that other cities around the world have taken.
“Mayor Adams is getting it done and the status quo can get on board or get out of the way,” said Commissioner Tisch. “Because the trash revolution is a trash evolution, and these bins are part of a solution to reduce the trash pollution.”
Other NY organizations are also stepping in to help fight against the city’s sanitation problems. The Sanitation Foundation and We Love NYC have teamed up to create The Great Broadway Sweep, a volunteer cleanup effort aiming to recruit people into helping to clean the city. The event started on Monday, September 18th, and will continue until Friday, September 22nd. There will be a total of nine morning cleanups that will start on the north and south ends of NYC and will walk towards each other until they meet in the middle at Times Square, where a celebration will be held.