Photo by John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
Council Member Phil Wong is urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Richard Lee, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance (DOF), to postpone the trash bin reimbursement deadline from its original date, Monday, June 1, to Tuesday, September 8 — aligning it with the Department of Sanitation (DOS)’s recently deferred enforcement for residents who have not obtained city-issued bins.
In a letter sent to both parties on Friday, May 22, Wong commended the DOS’s decision to solely issue warnings for residents — constituents living in qualified properties with 1 to 9 units — without said bins until the day after Labor Day.
As reported by amNewYork, the concerns over supply distribution with the NYC Bins led to the subsequent delay. The DOS-issued bins followed the DOS’s issued Request for Proposals to contract a vendor to produce official bins in October 2023 and were eventually unveiled on July 8, 2024.
This move, however, still leaves one stone unturned.
Photo courtesy of the District Office of Council Member Phil Wong
An array of constituents in District 30 have contacted the Council Member’s District Office to voice their concerns over difficulties in obtaining bins (e.g., shortages, delays) among older adults and disabled residents. The DOF is currently providing reimbursement for the purchase of one NYC-issued 45-gallon waste container for one and two-family homeowners with School Tax Relief (STAR) property tax exemption or credit in the previous year (or 2024).
The extension would grant residents additional time to secure the bins and reimbursement without financial consequences due to the city’s supply issues. If enforced, the fines would range from $50 to $200.
“We’ve heard from many constituents, especially seniors and residents with disabilities, who have struggled to obtain the official NYC trash bins due to ongoing shortages and supply issues,” said Wong. “If the City is delaying enforcement because residents cannot get the bins, then it only makes sense to extend the reimbursement deadline as well so people are not unfairly penalized.”
As Wong stated in the letter, the trash bin shortage has been “disproportionately affecting senior and disabled residents,” underscoring the urgency to extend the reimbursement deadline for the district’s most vulnerable population. The trash bin matter is one of the many quality-of-life issues that the District 30 representative is seeking to resolve. Moreover, the District Office has been in contact with city agencies and local retailers to address the availability issues.
Jeremy M. Edwards, the Deputy Press Secretary from the Office of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has issued the following statement regarding the matter:
“We are in receipt of the letter and are working to determine how to accommodate this request while still being within the bounds of the law. We hope to have more to share soon.”
As of press time, the Department of Finance has not responded to a request for comment.
The story has been updated to include the Deputy Press Secretary’s statement.