Spring Cleanup Sweeps Through Trash-Plagued NYC

NEW YORK CITY — Piles of trash plaguing pandemic New York City are about to face a sweeping spring cleaning.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced a spate of cleanup efforts designed to help revitalize the city after a difficult year of COVID-19 malaise.

He said the city will restore funding for litter basket collection, restart Sunday pickups, set out an additional 100 sanitation trucks and send a "community cleanup van" to get resources to locals who want to do some neighborhood sprucing up.

"Sanitation is going to play a crucial role in our recovery, and then we're going to go beyond that," de Blasio said. "In early April we will be talking about something new that's been made possible by this stimulus funding — the city cleanup corps. That's going to be exciting new piece of the equation allowing us to go farther and clean up neighborhoods and beautify them and announcements are coming very soon on that front."

The city cut sanitation services during budget woes at the height of the coronavirus crisis.

Overflowing litter baskets and garbage-heaped sidewalks became a common sight through much of New York City.

Ed Grayson, the city's sanitation commissioner, pushed to restore services. He appeared with de Blasio to announce "precision cleaning initiative" teams will sweep the boroughs to address pandemic-fueled quality of life concerns like illegal dumping and other eyesores.

The community cleanup van will help deliver tools to local groups, he said.

"In fact, from March of 2020 to March of 2021, we have double the amount of community cleanups,” he said. “That partnership that we have with these local organizations who want to do their part... is very important, it's very critical for the cleanliness of New York City and we can't thank them enough.”

Council Member Justin Brannan applauded the cleanup efforts.

"Indeed, the need for trash pickup may be the one remaining thing that unifies us in all of American politics these days," he said. "But basic quality of life services definitely took a big hit due to the COVID budget cuts and these were cuts that every neighborhood felt literally overnight. A clean and safe community is truly the foundation for everything else, so this is yet another great sign that New York City is coming back strong."