Page 14 - The Indian EYE 071224

COMMUNITY OP-ED JULY 12, 2024 | The Indian Eye 14

Fighting for Safer, Cleaner Streets

in New York City

Starting November 12th, buildings with one to nine residential units will be required to put

their trash into wheelie trash bins for easy removal

ERIC ADAMS

ast week, we celebrated Inde-
pendence Day — an oppor-
Ltunity to reflect on the values
that make the American Dream
possible in our city. Public safety and Our public transit system is the lifeblood of our city, so keeping New Yorkers safe on the subway is key to ensuring that New York
livability are two such foundational remains the safest big city in America (File/Agency photo)
commitments — allowing every New
Yorker to pursue their dreams with- crime in 14 years. cleaner. Our administration is com- of stinky, leaking black trash bags ev-
out fear for their safety and with a We know that community input mitted to supporting their work and ery year. Together, we are changing
better quality of life. is critical to improving public safety. leading the way in the fight for clean- that. Thanks to our administration’s
I am proud to say that New York That is why we are bringing partners er streets and against rats. I have efforts, as of November 12th, we will
remains the safest big city in America from across the city together to find long been clear: I hate rats. And so have containerized 70 percent of our
— and continues to get safer every day. innovative approaches to reducing do New Yorkers. That is why our city’s trash in just two years; that’s
As a result of our administra- crime and improving quality of life. administration has been ready to do nearly 10 billion pounds of trash off
tion’s successful public safety strategy, Last week, we announced the cre- whatever it takes to cut them off from our streets.
New York City has seen six straight ation of our fifth quality of life im- their all-you-can-eat buffet. We have As part of the ‘Trash Revolution,’
months of crime reduction. Overall provement hub, located in Midtown made enormous progress replacing we have changed set-out times for
crime continues to trend downward Manhattan. These hubs bring togeth- black trash bags that have long clut- residential and commercial waste,
and is down year to date. Homicides er law enforcement, elected officials, tered our streets and fed rats. so trash doesn’t sit on our streets for
are down double digits for the year, and community and business leaders This week, we announced the hours on end. We have designed a
as well as for this quarter and for last to address retail theft, substance use, next step in our ‘Trash Revolution’ brand-new model of garbage truck
month. Grand Larceny Auto is also the mental health crisis, beautifica- to get bags off our streets. Starting years ahead of schedule. And we
down double digits. Shootings are tion, illegal scaffolding, unlicensed November 12th, buildings with one have a plan to get containerization
down. And burglaries are down, too. cannabis shops, and more. to nine residential units will be re- done for every building and every
Our public transit system is the The coalition deploys teams to quired to put their trash into wheelie business in New York City.
lifeblood of our city, so keeping New conduct regular walkthroughs where trash bins for easy removal. And to We came into office with the
Yorkers safe on the subway is key to they observe issues in real time and make sure that cost is not a barrier clear goal of improving public safety,
ensuring that New York remains the speak with local community mem- for building owners, we had our own rebuilding our economy, and mak-
safest big city in America. That is bers and businesses on the ground. bins made. These bins are high-qual- ing New York City more livable for
why we surged more than 1,000 ad- They also identify specific individuals ity and affordable, with the most all New Yorkers. We are making im-
ditional officers in the subway system in the area who may need connec- common size costing less than $50 provements that New Yorkers feel
in February and introduced addition- tions to services, such as housing or — approximately three times cheaper every day. And every step we take
al technology, including cameras and medical care, and make referrals to than what you could expect to spend — whether it’s driving down crime or
data driven officer deployment. As the appropriate city agency or ser- at a store. improving quality of life — is in ser-
a result, transit crime remains down vice provider. For half a century, New York vice of creating a safer, more livable
for the year, and if you take out Similar coalitions across the City’s most valuable and limited re- city for everyone.
one of the pandemic years, we have city are already at work making our source — our public space — has Eric Adams is the Mayor of
reached the lowest level of transit neighborhoods safer and our streets been hijacked by 14 billion pounds New York City, NY

www.TheIndianEYE.com