Think the streets near you are disgusting, perhaps even the grossest in NYC? Depending on which borough you live in, you may be right.
Earlier this year, the New York City Department of Sanitation took a look at the number of streets and sidewalks in the city that could be considered "acceptably clean."
In what may be considered surprising findings, each borough except one scored above a 90% in clean streets. The lone exception was the Bronx, where 89.7% of streets were considered clean — meaning more than one in 10 were not found to be acceptable.
Brooklyn had the second-highest number of unclean streets, with 9.8% of streets determined to be dirty. Overall, the DOS found 93.6% of city streets to be "acceptably clean" in Jan. 2023 — which is an improvement from Dec. 2022 (92.6%) and much better from Jan. 2022 (88.5%).
As for sidewalks, once again the Bronx was bringing up the rear, at 93.9% found clean. It was the only borough below 95%, and just as with streets, the city overall had improved from the previous month and year.
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The borough with the cleanest streets was Staten Island, while Manhattan earned the title of cleanest sidewalks, with a whopping total of 98.9% found to be clean.
In an effort to improve the numbers, City Council is set to vote on a proposed bill aimed at decreasing litter in front of buildings. The proposal would target property owners who aren't cleaning up the sidewalks in front of their buildings, as it would greatly expand the time frame in which the DOS can issue violations for filthy sidewalks.
Currently, those infractions can only be issued during two hours of the day: from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and again from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The new proposed law would give Sanitation inspectors the ability to give violations for dirty sidewalks or gutters during the business' hours of operation.
The vote comes after Sanitation Department released it's new anti-litter campaign across the five boroughs — one that aligns with the recently refreshed We ❤️ NYC slogan that some New Yorkers have, shall we say, strong feelings about.
In fun, carefully chosen words, the department is addressing gross behaviors that have become borderline commonplace throughout the city. For example, those targeted in the ads include people who leave dog poop on the sidewalk, or those who toss cups, food wrappers, cigarette butts or other standard trash on city streets and sidewalks — rather than tossing them in a garbage can.
"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," Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. "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."
The launch comes amid a strategic realignment (and increased funding) of the city's Sanitation Department, one that includes cleaning more than 1,500 long-ignored areas across the five boroughs, cracking down on illegal dumping and changing trash pickup times — with the city's first new trash pickup rules in more than a half-century.
