Good morning, Chair Abreu and thank you for holding this hearing today. I am here representing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. As former Chair of the Council’s Sanitation Committee, Borough President Reynoso remains deeply invested in a comprehensive approach to waste management that centers sustainability and environmental justice and engages all New Yorkers in doing their part. To that end, we want to address a few issues with the FY26 Preliminary Budget:
Commercial Waste Zones (CWZ): The long-delayed CWZ program is finally up and running after completion of the first pilot Zone in Central Queens, which by many accounts has been successful in streamlining operations and encouraging safer industry practices through increased enforcement. However, the program’s true success – when it will lead to meaningful changes in vehicle miles traveled, safer streets, and industry best practices – hinges upon implementation of all 20 Zones citywide. This will require increased headcount for operations and enforcement. It will also require increased funding for outreach and education, which will ideally mean partnerships with trusted community-based organizations that can help DSNY reach local businesses more effectively. Yet the preliminary budgets for civilian headcount and enforcement by borough remain stagnant from the FY25 adopted budget, while the public information budget receives only a modest increase. Borough President Reynoso encourages the Council and the administration to work together to ensure that the program, which is a revenue generator for the City, is fully funded to for a full rollout in the upcoming fiscal year.
Containerization: Borough President Reynoso has testified before this committee before about his concerns with the rollout of citywide containerization. While he fully supports a citywide containerization regime, the current strategy is expensive and impractical. As predicted, taking a one-size-fits-all approach has led to bins becoming permanent fixtures on the sidewalk in areas where homeowners and businesses have nowhere to store them, and these bins are easily stolen or moved. Borough President Reynoso calls on the Mayor and the City Council to fast-track and fund stationary, shared, on-street containers, which the Future of Trash report called, “the only path to high-density residential containerization at scale.” These shared bins should also include space for separated recycling and organics. The Mayor’s Management report notes that our recycling diversion rate continues to drop well below the City’s goals. Having different strategies for different types of trash will only continue to hinder us from meeting our zero waste goals.
Community Composting: Borough President Reynoso thanks the Council for reinstating funding for community composting, the benefits of which go well beyond simple waste diversion and include job creation and education. He supports the Save Our Compost Coalition’s ask for $11.3 million for FY26, including a one-time allocation of $2.19 million for the Lower East Side Ecology Center to build its facility in Canarsie, which was previously delayed due to budget cuts. This facility will not only contribute to the City’s efforts to process compost locally, it will engage residents in an underserved community in composting, farming, and gardening and provide job training programs.
Solid Waste Management Plan: Because DSNY has brought creation of the next Solid Waste Management Plan in-house rather than paying a contractor, it is unclear how much of its budget is supporting this critical work. This important plan will guide solid waste management in New York City into the future. The 2006 plan included transformative measures, such as creating a metal/glass/plastic recycling facility in the city (now operating in Sunset Park) and developing the City-operated Marine Transfer Stations (MTSs), which ship residential waste out by barge rather than long-haul truck, a major win for environmental justice advocates who participated in shaping the plan. Though the updated plan is due in 2026, DSNY has not started any public engagement on its creation, which is deeply concerning. The Mayor and the Council should work together to ensure that DSNY is sufficiently funded to make this plan robust and transformational.
Brooklyn District 13 and 15 Garages: Finally, on DSNY’s capital plan, Borough President Reynoso wants to once again express disappointment that Brooklyn’s District 13 and 15 garages are not being considered for capital upgrades. These garages are still operating from among the worst physical plants in DSNY’s inventory, with BK 13 located in a dilapidated building and parking its trucks on an HPD-owned site slated for affordable housing development, and BK 15 using trailers in an area plagued by flooding. City Council approved site selection for a new garage to be located on Coney Island Creek in 2006, but the project was never funded. These garages need and deserve a new, long-term home.
Thank you again for holding this hearing today. Borough President Reynoso looks forward to working with the Council and the administration to further our goals to make our city cleaner and more sustainable.