City Planning failed to prepare a waste prevention and recycling plan and failed to submit annual reports to Sanitation. On September 24, 2014, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit finding that the New York City Department of City Planning did not comply with Local Law 36. Local Law 36 was enacted in 2010 to amend the City’s recycling provision in Local Law 19. (more…)

Image Credit: DCP.
On September 11, 2023, the City Planning Commission voted to approve the City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality zoning text amendment. The amendment is the first of the City’s three proposed City of Yes zoning text amendments to pass the City Planning Commission. The City of Yes amendments aim to remove or change outdated parts of the zoning text that hinder the development of housing, economic growth, or the implementation of green technology and infrastructure. (more…)

The new commercial containerization rules go into effect starting September 5th. Image Credit: DSNY.
On September 5, 2023, chain businesses with five or more locations citywide will be required to use rigid containers with secure lids when setting out trash curbside for collection. The rule is a part of the city’s ongoing push to control the rat population by restricting sources of food. The rule was finalized and published in the City Record on August 2nd. (more…)

Image Credit: NYCHA.
On August 10, 2023, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced the launch of a waste containerization pilot program for five NYCHA developments across South Brooklyn. The program, Clean Curbs for All, aims to reduce food sources from trash left out on curbs for pests like rats to consume and continue to grow. (more…)

Mayor Adams announcing changes to containerization requirements for certain businesses this past June as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to address the rat population. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
On July 25, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, Sanitation Department (DSNY) Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and Director of Citywide Rodent Mitigation Kathleen Corradi announced that changing to later trash set-out times have had a positive impact on reducing rat activity citywide. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of 311 calls made about rat activity citywide decreased by 20 percent from May to mid-July 2023, and the City’s four rat mitigation zones—Bronx Grand Concourse, Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant/Bushwick, and East Village/Chinatown—saw rat sighting calls decrease by more than 45 percent on average. (more…)