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By Barbara Russo-Lennon

Public litter basket service could be kicked to the curb if the Adams administration gets its way. 

The NYC Council announced Monday it is calling for the restoration of funding to basic Department of Sanitation (DSNY) programs and services that keep the city clean ahead of an executive budget hearing. 

Council Member Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan), chair of the council’s committee on sanitation and solid waste management, along with others on the council, is urging NYC Mayor Eric Adams to restore funding for more litter basket service and citywide community composting programs. 

Both programs were written as priorities in the council’s preliminary budget response, but were left out of the mayor’s FY25 executive budget, the city council said in a press release. 

While the council has historically negotiated one-time funding each year to support litter basket pickup service, the council feels the funding should just be there — baselined — since public trash collection is such a vital service, especially as the city battles a growing rat problem. 

“New Yorkers are tired of leaving their apartment to be greeted by mountains of trash bags and swarms of rats on their street corner,” Abreu said. “We can and we must do better, and the good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. We have initiatives proven to keep our city clean, like community composting, which teaches New Yorkers how to compost, and litter baskets, which make sure waste is left in bins instead of on our streets.”