The preponderance of litter and dog waste on the City’s sidewalks remains a scourge to residents. On Monday, April 10, New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), in collaboration with the Partnership for New York City, launched a substantial marketing campaign to shame those who they described as “garbage” New Yorkers, litterers and “dog-poopetrators,” once and for all. The campaign is the first major anti-littering campaign by DSNY in at least 15 years, officials said.

“New Yorkers have had enough of litter, enough of filth on our sidewalks, and enough of feeling like there’s nothing they can do about it,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This administration has committed to “Get Stuff Clean,” and our strategy is working, but we need everyone to do their part, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”

Jessica Tisch, DSNY commissioner, said that since the start of his administration, Adams unleashed what she described as a “tidal wave of cleanliness” on the City, and said the crest of this wave was finally hitting the streets. “Yet some people continue to fail in their basic duty to keep our neighborhoods clean by littering or not cleaning up after their dog,” she said. “I don’t know why they do it, and frankly, I don’t care why they do it. All I know is, if I see someone littering, I’ll tell them where to stick it.”

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said, “If we want a clean city, every New Yorker needs to do their part.” She added, “The Department of Sanitation has upped their game, but they need our help! We’re asking New Yorkers to get engaged in the future of our city at welovenyc.nyc.”

WE Love NYC is a citywide initiative to mobilize New Yorkers to come together to inspire civic action. Showcasing how New Yorkers can do their part when it comes to litter, the Partnership for New York City is supporting the litter clearance initiative through donated media and other means.

The ad campaign, designed pro bono, in a collaboration with creative agency, VMLY&R, and DSNY, is intended to enlist all New Yorkers in the work of calling out the offensive behavior that continues to disrupt the cleanliness of the City’s streets. The ads will run on bus shelters and LinkNYC kiosks across the five boroughs for the remainder of April.

Beth Ann Kaminkow, New York CEO of VMLY&R, said the organization was thrilled to partner with the City on what she called such an important anti-litter initiative. “With over 1,000 employees working and living in and around NYC, we take great pride in our city and want to do all we can to keep it clean. With Spring in full bloom, it’s time to fully enjoy our streets and parks.”

DSNY officials said the new ad campaign comes at a time of great strategic realignment for the department around its core mission of cleanliness. They said as part of the mayor’s commitment to “Get Stuff Clean,” DSNY is now cleaning more than 1,500, long-ignored areas across the City, cracking down on what they described as the scourge of illegal dumping, and ensuring residents have clean and accessible streets by substantially changing the hours at which trash is set out and how it is collected.

Please refer to Norwood News’ latest Neighborhood Notes feature for details of the earlier collection times.

DSNY officials said the department keeps New York City clean, safe, and healthy by collecting, recycling, and disposing of waste, cleaning streets, attacking the scourge of illegal dumping, and clearing snow and ice. They said the department operates 59 district garages and manages a fleet of more than 2,000 rear-loading collection trucks, 450 mechanical brooms, 705 salt spreaders, and several dozen bike lane operations machines.

Under the Adams administration, officials said the department is aggressively cleaning more parts of the City than ever before, including over 1,000 long-ignored areas spread across every neighborhood. With the highest wintertime uniformed headcount in 20 years, DSNY is more equipped than ever to remove snow and ice from the approximately 19,000 lane-miles of City streets.

As reported, Bronx Community Board 7 is calling on the City Parks’ department to install an additional Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) station in Van Cortlandt Park in the Northwest Bronx to assist with park patrol. The motion was presented and approved at the March 28th Bronx Community Board 7 general board meeting.