New York City Department of Sanitation

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Department of Sanitation
File:DSNY.svg
Department overview
Jurisdiction New York City
Headquarters 125 Worth Street
New York, NY
Employees 7,200 uniformed sanitation workers and supervisors
2,041 civilian employees
Department executive
  • Kathryn Garcia, Commissioner of Sanitation
Key document
Website www.nyc.gov/sanitation

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City[1] responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal.

Organization

The New York City Department of Sanitation is the largest sanitation department in the world, with 7,201 uniformed sanitation workers and supervisors, 2,041 civilian workers, 2,230 collection trucks, 275 specialized collection trucks, 450 street sweepers, 365 salt and sand spreaders, 298 front end loaders, 2,360 support vehicles, and handles over 12,000 tons of residential and institutional refuse and recyclables a day.[2] It has a uniformed force of unionized sanitation workers (Local 831 USA of the Teamsters). Its regulations are compiled in title 16 of the New York City Rules.

The New York City Department of Sanitation has its own police force, which is composed of four specialized units:

  • The Uniformed Sanitation Police Force
  • The illegal dumping task force
  • The Permit and Inspection Unit
  • The Environmental Police Unit

They are composed of uniformed and undercover officers who handle sanitation related emergency calls, and enforce sanitation related laws in addition to state and city traffic and criminal laws in the 5 boroughs of New York City. DSNY police officers are NYS peace officer certified by the NYS Municipal Training Council. Officers may carry a firearm , carry and use handcuffs, make warrantless arrests, issue summonses, and use physical and deadly force. The police force uses marked and unmarked police cars.[3]

Districts

Bronx

Brooklyn North

Brooklyn South

Manhattan

  • Manhattan 6
  • Manhattan 9
  • Manhattan 11
  • Manhattan 12

Queens East

  • Queens 12

Queens West

Staten Island

[4]

Motto

Like the rest of New York's uniformed forces, they have a nickname: "New York's Strongest," a term coined by Harry Nespoli to describe the Department's football team in the late 1970s-early 1980s.[5] The section of Worth Street between Centre and Baxter Streets in Manhattan is named "Avenue of the Strongest" in their honor.

History

DSNY was founded in 1881 as the Department of Street Cleaning. One of the Department's first Commissioners, Colonel George E. Waring, Jr., pioneered such current practices as recycling, street sweeping, and a dedicated uniformed cleaning and collection force.[6] Under Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, New York City's streets are reportedly the cleanest that they have been in over 30 years.[2]

Commissioners

  • Col. George Waring, Jr. (1895–98)
  • William F. Carey (1936–45)
  • Robert Groh (1974–76)
  • Anthony Vaccarello (1976–78)
  • Norman Steisel (1978–86)
  • Brendan Sexton (1986–90)
  • Steven Polan (1990–92)
  • Emily Lloyd (1992–94)
  • John Doherty (1994–98, 2002–14)
  • Kevin Farrell (1999–2001)
  • Kathryn Garcia (2014–present)

Strikes

  • 1968: Sanitation workers had been without a contract for six months when they rejected Mayor John Lindsay's latest proposal and went on strike on February 2. As the garbage on the streets of New York City accumulated to over 100,000 tons, negotiations between Lindsay and union leaders went poorly. Finally, on February 10, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller stepped in, offering a $425 wage increase and future arbitration, which the workers agreed to and ended the strike.[7]
  • 1975: A wildcat strike took place in 1975 from July 2–4 in the midst of a budget crisis for New York City before returning to work under the provision that they would put up their own money to guarantee payroll if the city legislation could not get the tax increase necessary.[8]
  • 1981: Workers went on strike just after midnight on December 1 to demand a wage increase and would remain out until December 17.[9]

See also

Gallery

  • 125 Worth Street, the department's headquarters

  • NYC Sanitation Police Patch.jpg

    A DSNY Police patch

  • Sanitation workers picking up garbage on 172nd Street in 1973

  • A typical NYC street waste basket

References

  1. ↑ New York City Charter § 751; "There shall be a department of sanitation the head of which shall be the commissioner of sanitation."
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 About DSNY
  3. ↑ DSNY Police Cars
  4. ↑ DSNY District Map. Retrieved 2015-Feb-15.
  5. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/06/nyregion/salute-to-sanitationmen-aims-to-counter-morale-problem.html
  6. ↑ Trying to Clean Up New York, Gotham Gazette, Aug. 16, 2004
  7. ↑ Untapped Cities. "Today in NYC History: The Great Garbage Strike of 1968." Retrieved 2015-Jun-29.
  8. ↑ "Beame's gimmick ends N.Y. garbage strike." Chicago Tribune. 1975 Jul 4. Retrieved 2015-Jun-29.
  9. ↑ NYC, 1981. "The Christmas Trash Strike of 1981." Young, Greg. Retrieved 2015-Jun-29.

External links

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