Page 10 - The Indian EYE 090525

COMMUNITY OP-ED SEPTEMBER 05, 2025 | The Indian Eye 10

From the Mean Streets to

Clean Streets: A Cleaner City for

All New Yorkers

New York City has more than 1,100 miles of highway, and for decades the responsibility of cleaning highway

shoulders and medians was divided between different entities and wasn’t carried out regularly — that’s why we
created the Department of Sanitation’s Highway Unit

ERIC ADAMS

ow we deal with our garbage says a lot
about who we are as a society. New York
HCity must look as good as the people who
live here. I have said it many times: We cannot allow
our streets and sidewalks to be cluttered with un- In a first for all of North America, NYC has piloted a new automated side-loading garbage truck and committed over $32 million
sightly black garbage bags which are a tripping haz- in permanent funding for the Department of Sanitation (File photo)
ard for pedestrians and provide a constant all-you-
can-eat buffet for rats. So, for the past four years,
our administration has been sweeping in a new era tles to fast food packaging and more. This effort sent rats packing. Rat sightings reported to 311
of public cleanliness with our “Trash Revolution.” has made our highways cleaner and safer. have dropped for eight consecutive months when
Not only have we shifted garbage set out times We have reached another milestone ahead of compared to the same months last year, and rat
from 4 PM to 8 PM — which means that trash is on our June 2026 deadline for containerization for sightings are down more than 16 percent year-to-
the street for less time and doesn’t interfere with buildings with one to nine residential units (con- date citywide.
pedestrians during rush hours — but we have also tainerization means setting out garbage in closed In a first for all of North America, we also pi-
required food-related businesses, as well as chain bins, rather than black bags on the streets). loted a new automated side-loading garbage truck
businesses of any type, to put their garbage into and committed over $32 million in permanent
bins with tightly fitting lids. More than that: New We already had containerization rules in funding for the Department of Sanitation in our
Yorkers are composting roughly 5 million pounds “Best Budget Ever.”
of food and yard waste each week. That keeps place for larger buildings, now smaller When I said four years ago that we were going
these valuable organic materials out of landfills buildings have ordered more than 800,000 to have cleaner streets and fewer vermin, the cyn-
and diverts them to beneficial use — including as ics rolled their eyes. They said, ‘New York City is
soil for gardens. official NYC Bins online, plus another too big, government moves too slow, and no one
New York City has more than 1,100 miles 80,000 from The Home Depot. This is a will ever, ever beat the rats.’ But we refused to take
of highway, and for decades the responsibility of no for an answer.
cleaning highway shoulders and medians was di- huge win for our city and for our efforts to New York City, which used to be known as
vided between different entities and wasn’t carried keep our streets free of smelly trash bags. “mean streets,” will now be known as “clean streets.”
out regularly — that’s why we created the Depart- We are the safest big city in America — and we are
ment of Sanitation’s Highway Unit. Now, highway working towards becoming the cleanest, too. Our
cleanliness is the sole responsibility of the High- And when we look at all our efforts togeth- “Triple-Clean” accomplishments — cleaner high-
way Unit. And since the unit’s formation in April er, new data shows our multi-faceted approach ways, more containerization, and fewer rats — are
2023, it has removed more than 15 million tons of is working. Since residential containerization re- proof that our approach is working.
litter — everything from car bumpers to water bot- quirements took effect eight months ago, we have Eric Adams is the Mayor of New York City, NY

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