NYC Deploys 10,000 for Cleanup as Trash, Rodent Complaints Soar
City faces nearly twice the amount of garbage it did before Covid.
New York City is waging a campaign to win back residents and tourists after a pandemic shut down the rarefied restaurants, raging nightlife and high-flown culture that drove the city’s economy. First, it’s got to deal with the trash.
Mayor Bill de Blasio this week announced a $30 million tourism marketing campaign. Earlier this month, he started hiring workers for a newly created City Cleanup Corps— a 10,000-employee force to eradicate graffiti, collect litter and beautify parks— and pledged to restore some of the sanitation budget cuts he made last year. But the mayor, who will depart City Hall this year due to term limits, will leave completion of the task to his successor.