NYC’s rat-fighting trash container plan would remove 150K parking spots

Metro

By Nolan Hicks and Natalie O’Neill

May 3, 2023 | 4:25pm

The city’s plan to combat rats may gnaw at drivers.

A program to curb the Big Apple’s booming rat population with new trash containers would eliminate150,000 parking spots — more than the city’s outdoor dining and bike share programs combined, according to a report released Wednesday.

The city’s $4 million garbage “containerization” study found that the giant receptacles could be installed on 89 percent of city streets, including in most outer boroughs without eating up parking.

But it would be more difficult in space-crunched areas south of 110th Street in Manhattan, where 25 percent of parking spaces on some blocks would need to be nixed, according to the much-anticipated report released by the Department of Sanitation.

“Waste containerization is feasible in many parts of New York City. Like many good things, it will not come easily, but there is no doubt that it can be done,” said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tish.

“Citywide waste containerization requires extensive changes to our city’s streets and public spaces — potentially some of the largest changes in a generation.”

The groundbreaking trash plan aims to block rodents from feasting on garbage — cutting off their food source — by requiring residents to toss trash, recycling, and compost in giant covered containers instead of on the curb.

Renderings of the bins look like a hybrid between traditional dumpsters and massive sealed Tupperwares, set up in rows alongside sidewalks.

The containers would fit on about half of the streets analyzed in the study “without eliminating any curb space uses,” including much of Staten Island, eastern Queens, southern Brooklyn, and the northern Bronx, according to the report.

But the program is expected to spark controversy much like the city’s outdoor dining and bike-share programs, both of which were met with criticism over their use of street space.

Outdoor dining reportedly snapped up 8,550 parking spots during the pandemic while about 6,100 parking spaces vanished from city streets due to Citibike docking stations and other two-wheel-friendly initiatives over a two-year period.

The report makes no mention of a potential price for the trash container plan, but it would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade, the New York Times reported.

To make it work, the city would need to fork over cash for new specialized trash trucks along with the containers themselves while increasing the frequency of garbage pick-ups.

Similar trash containerization programs have been successful in cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Singapore, according to the study.

The six-month study comes as City Hall pushes to keep trash off the curb and away from rats by installing new bins and cutting the amount of time trash bags sit on the street with later pick-up times.

Last month, Mayor Adams — who has been outspoken about his deep hatred of rodents — hired the city’s first-ever rat czar with the goal of annihilating the filthy furballs.