New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and the Sanitation Foundation (DSNY’s official nonprofit) announced a major new philanthropic undertaking focused on cleaning high-traffic commercial corridors across the city in a video released. Beginning on Nostrand Avenue, from Myrtle Avenue to Eastern Parkway, and Utica Avenue, from Fulton Street to East New York Avenue, in Brooklyn, this new initiative — dubbed the “Clean City Alliance” — will provide sidewalk cleaning to some of the busiest areas that do not have Business Improvement Districts (BID) to help organize cleanliness efforts in all five boroughs. Property owners are legally responsible for the cleanliness of the sidewalk in front of their property, as well as 18 inches into the street. In many neighborhoods, businesses pay to form BIDs, which then contract with outside groups for sidewalk cleaning, making a noticeable difference in sidewalk cleanliness and pedestrian experience. The “Clean City Alliance” will bring philanthropy and the private sector together and will begin by servicing sidewalks in parts of Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy — a neighborhood that does not have a BID — and will expand to other busy commercial corridors without BIDs across the city. The “Clean City Alliance” will also be a source of employment opportunity, hiring locally across the city.
Mayor Adams, Commissioner Tisch, and Caryl Englander announced the “Clean City Alliance” in a newly released video.
“Every part of our city deserves to be clean — every street and every neighborhood,” said Mayor Adams. “With the ‘Clean City Alliance,’ we are building on our ‘Get Stuff Clean’ initiatives, partnering with philanthropic and business partners to improve New Yorkers’ quality of life, and helping businesses thrive. Thank you to the leaders from across New York who are stepping up, donating to this program, and doing their part to make a clean city a reality for all across the five boroughs.”
“There are so many important reasons the busy commercial corridors of Crown Heights should have the same level of investment by the business community as Midtown Manhattan,” said Chief Advisor to the Mayor Chaplain Ingrid Lewis-Martin. “This is the beginning of a paradigm shift to level the playing field. It starts here it, starts now, and will spread to other disenfranchised neighborhoods. This initiative is good for residents and good for business.”
“Thanks to the combined work of the Sanitation Foundation and DSNY, today we are recognizing and meeting the needs of neighborhoods citywide that have not historically received the daily maintenance and cleaning benefits of a formal business improvement district,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “New Yorkers everywhere deserve clean, livable streets and sidewalks, and today’s announcement is another significant step towards that goal.”
“Over the last year and a half, Mayor Adams has invested in clean streets, and now with the ‘Clean City Alliance,’ we can engage our philanthropic community in taking that work to the next level,” said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “Along with the way we’ve revolutionized trash collection, this will make a deep and meaningful difference in the pedestrian experience of the city.”
“The difference in the cleanliness of our streets is apparent — all you have to do is look around — but there is always more to do. The ‘Clean City Alliance’ is not absolving businesses of their legal and moral responsibility; instead, it’s about showing them the positive outcomes that come from doing what's right,” said Caryl Englander, chair of the board, Sanitation Foundation. “New York City belongs to all of us. This shared ownership comes with a shared responsibility to keep our city clean and beautiful.”
Purposefully designed to be a replicable model, the “Clean City Alliance” will provide sidewalk cleaning and litter removal services to a given neighborhood for a set period of time, during which the Sanitation Foundation and DSNY will work closely with local stakeholders to ensure the neighborhood continues to remain clean.
The launch of the “Clean City Alliance” comes as part of a massive overhaul of cleanliness in New York City, including:
- The return of full street sweeping and Alternate Side Parking;
- The highest level of litter basket service in history;
- Streamlining responsibilities in an effort to ensure long-ignored areas — like medians, step streets, and greenways — are cleaned;
- A universal curbside composting program — being rolled out over the next year and a half — which will remove rat food from trash bags;
- The city’s first anti-littering marketing campaign in 15 years; and
- New enforcement against the scourge of illegal dumping, including $4,000 summonses and vehicle impounds.
New Yorkers who wish to support the work of the “Clean City Alliance” can contribute on the Sanitation Foundation’s website.
