Latest news with #DepartmentofSanitation
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Garbage truck, MTA bus, oil truck accidents claim 3 lives in NYC in 1 day
A 26-year-old man riding a gas-powered moped died after a Department of Sanitation garbage truck smashed into him in Queens, police said Friday. Both vehicles were traveling westbound on Bushwick Ave. in East Williamsburg around 9:30 a.m. when the 20-year-old garbage truck driver plowed into the moped rider while trying to turn right onto Flushing Ave., according to police. Medics rushed the young moped rider to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition, where doctors pronounced him dead. His identity is being withheld pending family notification. The driver of the garbage truck — which appeared to be brand new — remained at the scene, cops said. So far there have been no arrests as police continue to investigate. The collision was the second of three fatal accidents in the city Friday. Earlier in the morning in the Bronx, a 22-year-old man riding as a passenger on a Razor Racer electric bike operated by a 24-year-old man died after they collided with an oil truck at the intersection of Southern Blvd. and Bruckner Blvd., according to police. Then, around 2 p.m. in Queens, a 70-year-old man died when the MTA Q52 accordion bus he was waiting for hit him after he stumbled into the roadway while trying to get up from his walker as the bus approached near Hoffman Dr. and Woodhaven Blvd. in Elmhurst. Two more fatal collisions happened within 24 hours in the Big Apple on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the total this week to five deaths from traffic accidents. Traffic and pedestrian safety was a major talking point at Thursday night's mayoral debate.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cameras on NYC street sweepers may soon nab alternate side parking scofflaws
Serial street-sweeper scofflaws, beware. You could soon be on camera. The City Council Wednesday voted to give its consent to a proposed state law that would enable street sweepers to automatically issue alternate-side parking tickets to any vehicle slotted alongside the wrong curb. 'This is a common-sense bill that will make our streets demonstrably cleaner,' Council Member Lincoln Restler (D – Brooklyn), who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. 'We're talking about cracking down on the worst offenders to ultimately facilitate greater compliance, which means fewer rats and better quality of life for all New Yorkers.' The Council voted 41 to 8 to pass the legislation. The bill is a so-called 'Home Rule message,' meaning it merely indicates the City's intention to cooperate with a state law that's yet to pass. The state bill — known as S1891 in the senate, and A4523 in the assembly — has yet to get out of committee in either house. If passed, the law would allow the city to mount cameras on the Department of Sanitation's fleet of street-sweepers to photograph and automatically ticket any vehicles parked along the curb during cleaning hours. The automated tickets would be capped at $50, and be subject to an additional $25 late fee. 'Just as bus cameras protect transit riders, broom cameras will safeguard public health and urban dignity,' said state Sen. Robert Jackson (D – Manhattan). 'This isn't about punishment—it's about progress.' The law would also allow photographs taken by the sweeper-mounted cameras to be provided to law enforcement in response to a warrant.
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Some NYC carters say sanitation overhaul threatens their livelihood
While the New York City Department of Sanitation handles household trash, the city's commercial waste has long been the purview of private companies like Liverpool Carting, which Louis Gino Fava's father founded in 1945. The arrival of a new policy for New York City's commercial waste means only three carters will be permitted to operate in each of a series of citywide zones. The Department of Sanitation awarded contracts to the winners, and Liverpool Carting was not one of them, putting an end to operations once the rollout reaches them. "This thing is totally unfair" Fava says the future of his commercial waste carting business is in peril. "I had to think twice about buying brand-new trucks with the gloom and doom hanging over my head here," he said. The family says Liverpool takes pride in offering white-glove service to businesses including high-end retail along Madison Avenue. "I did all the paperwork, application, everything, and here I am. I'm denied a zone," he said. "This thing is totally unfair." The Department of Sanitation told CBS New York in a statement in part: The Commercial Waste Zone program created under Local Law 199 of 2019 is a massive, massive overhaul of an industry that had for too long been a race-to-the-bottom. The idea is to create safer conditions for private sanitation workers, better service for businesses, and improved environmental outcomes without seeing massive increases in price. "There's going to be winners, and there's going to be losers" Though he is calling for more transparent communication from the Department of Sanitation, Lew Dubuque with the National Waste & Recycling Association is optimistic about the new strategy. "In a process like this, there's going to be winners, and there's going to be losers," he said. "I think that the city did a great job of selecting a perfect group of companies to roll this process out." Others in favor of the reforms are calling into question the speed and efficiency of the rollout. "The rollout ... has fallen short" Council Member Shaun Abreu, chair of the sanitation committee, told CBS News New York in a statement: The rollout of commercial waste zones has fallen short. At our recent oversight hearing, we finally got some long-overdue answers on the implementation schedule, but the details are still too vague. DSNY announced the order of zones, but we still don't have clear launch dates. That lack of transparency hurts everyone involved. Environmental justice communities have waited years for this reform and deserve accountable timelines. Businesses—whether scaling up or seeking subcontracting opportunities—need clarity to plan responsibly. This is a major operational shift, and the city must treat it with the urgency it deserves. The Department of Sanitation said getting it right takes time, adding in part: It took years of very careful contracting – and a competitive RFP process – to select the carters and do just that. In 18 of the City's 20 zones, there will be at least one awarded carter operating below the current Business Integrity Commission rate cap, and in the remaining two, the increase is in the single digits. This is amazing and is a testament to what can be done when the work is done right. You can email Elle with Queens story ideas by CLICKING HERE.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Hit-and-run driver mows down 55-year-old man crossing Brooklyn street
A hit-and-run driver killed a 55-year-old man crossing a Brooklyn street early Saturday, police said. It was one of two fatal crashes to take place Saturday morning in the five boroughs, police said. The victim was crossing Washington Ave. at Fulton St. in Clinton Hill about 12:20 a.m. when a burgundy-colored Ford Explorer heading west on Fulton St. rammed into him, cops said. The driver of the Ford Explorer sped off without stopping, stunned witnesses told police. EMS rushed the victim to New York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, but he couldn't be saved. The man's name was not immediately released as cops tracked down family members. No arrests have been made. In an unrelated incident about an hour after the Clinton Hill crash, a 22-year-old driver died when his Infiniti G37 veered into oncoming traffic and slammed into a parked city sanitation truck in Queens, cops said. The motorist was heading north on Douglaston Parkway outside Alley Pond Park in Bayside about 1:45 a.m. when he listed into the southbound lane — straight into the front of an unoccupied city sanitation truck outside the city Department of Sanitation's Queens garage. He died at the scene. His name was not immediately released. No other cars were involved in the crash, cops said. Saturday's crash in Brooklyn was the second fatal hit-and-run in the borough in a week, cops said. On May 10, Larry Maxwell was crossing the street outside his longtime home in Brownsville's Langston Hughes Houses to attend a family event at the nearby Dr. Green Playground when he was struck by a driver fleeing a fender-bender. The driver has not been caught, cops said. The city has seen a 19% decrease in fatal crashes this year, although the number of pedestrians killed by motor vehicles have increased slightly, cops said. As of Thursday, cops have investigated 40 fatal pedestrian crashes — two more than this time last year, according to police.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Larger buildings will still be fined for not composting in NYC: officials
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Composting fines for smaller buildings in New York City was paused on Thursday, but others can still expect to be ticketed, according to the mayor's office. Officials said buildings with 30 or more units that don't comply with composting rules can still be fined. The buildings are given four or more warnings by the Department of Sanitation before they face an $100 fine, according to the mayor's office. More Local News Despite fines being paused for some buildings, composting is still 'mandatory,' officials said. 'Make no mistake: Composting continues to be mandatory in New York City. Mayor Adams has led by example on this issue and composts daily,' the mayor's office told PIX11 News in a statement. 'But he has also heard from New Yorkers across all five boroughs — including at town halls — who still have questions about this extremely important program.' Nearly 3,600 tickets for non-composting were issued to New Yorkers since fines began on April 1, officials said. The city has picked up nearly 4 million pounds of compost just last week, according to the mayor's office. Officials said tickets for non-compliance will be given out to smaller buildings with less than 30 units by the end of the year. Mandatory composting – where New Yorkers would have to separate their food scraps from regular garbage – started last fall. Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
