Latest news with #JoannAriola
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Adams losing ‘war on rats' as NYC Council rips budget cuts delaying cleanup of 1,700 trash-strewn lots
Mayor Eric Adams is losing his 'war on rats' — in large part because his administration refuses to fully fund a Sanitation Department unit dealing with a backlog of more than 1,700 garbage-strewn lots that need to be cleaned, a majority of City Council members said this week. Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens) fired off a bipartisan letter last week to the mayor signed by 30 council members demanding the city pump another $2.6 million yearly into agency's Lot Cleaning Unit back to pre-pandemic levels of 108 employees in 2019. The unit has since shrunk to 10 workers assigned to clean city-owned lots and vacant lots in the five boroughs. 'These [lots] are not only unsightly and unsafe, but they are also infested with rats and other vermin that spread disease,' Ariola wrote. 'Considering the resources your administration has poured into its 'War on Rats,' we expected that tackling these filthy areas in every borough would be a priority.' Adams' proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 includes $820,277 for lot cleaning, increases the unit's staff to 15 and it's funding to $1.6 million by fiscal 2029. That's not enough, said council members who have been forced to use their discretionary funds to supplement nonprofits and city sanitation workers cleaning filthy weed-strewn lots and traffic medians. 'Having a severely deficient lot cleaning program only undermines other efforts by DSNY and your administration to 'Get Stuff Clean,'' wrote Ariola, referring to the mayor's campaign to cleanup city streets. 'It also sends a hypocritical message to New Yorkers that, while residents are required to comply with the rules, to containerize their garbage and clean their own properties or else face fines and penalties, their own city government has no such responsibility. 'We once again ask that you provide DSNY the funding they need to rectify this problem.' The backlog of vacant lots desperately needing a cleaning include one on Chandler Street near Motts Basin in Far Rockaway, Queens, and another disaster at 75 Baltimore Street in Great Kills, Staten Island, according to council members. Both are garbage-filled, weed-strewn eyesores that have become neighborhood dumping grounds covered with abandoned shopping carts, mattresses, furniture and other debris. Rodent complaints to 311 spiked nearly 8% during Adams first two years in office — despite his ballyhooed multi-million dollar war on rats and vow from Day One to make headway against the vermin, The Post has reported. Updated statistics were not immediately available. Sanitation Department spokesman Joshua Goodman insisted Mayor Adams proposed budget for next fiscal year 'makes greater investments in a cleaner city than ever before.' 'The increased funding for cleaning vacant lots allows us to focus on those that pose health risks, those located near schools or parks, and those receiving 311 service requests – not just in the coming year, but for years to come,' he said. 'We can always do more with more, and we look forward to working with the Council to ensure resources are allocated efficiently to areas of greatest need.'
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
NYC Council trashes Mayor Adams over Sanitation budget cuts
Mayor Eric Adams is losing his 'war on rats' — in large part because his administration refuses to fully fund a Sanitation Department unit dealing with a backlog of more than 1,700 garbage-strewn lots that need to be cleaned, a majority of City Council members said this week. Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens) fired off a bipartisan letter last week to the mayor signed by 30 council members demanding the city pump another $2.6 million yearly into agency's Lot Cleaning Unit back to pre-pandemic levels of 108 employees in 2019. The unit has since shrunk to 10 workers assigned to clean city-owned lots and vacant lots in the five boroughs. Advertisement 4 This debris-filled vacant lot on Baltimore Street on Staten Island is one more than 1,700 such abandoned or city-owned lots on a waiting list for the Sanitation Department of clean, according to the City Council. Obtained by the New York Post 'These [lots] are not only unsightly and unsafe, but they are also infested with rats and other vermin that spread disease,' Ariola wrote. 'Considering the resources your administration has poured into its 'War on Rats,' we expected that tackling these filthy areas in every borough would be a priority.' Advertisement Adams' proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 includes $820,277 for lot cleaning, increases the unit's staff to 15 and it's funding to $1.6 million by fiscal 2029. 4 Twenty-nine City Council members signed off a letter demanding Mayor Eric Adams pour another $2.6 million yearly into cleaning up vacant lots. Luiz Rampelotto/ZUMA / That's not enough, said council members who have been forced to use their discretionary funds to supplement nonprofits and city sanitation workers cleaning filthy weed-strewn lots and traffic medians. 4 Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens) suggested in the letter that Adams is losing his 'war on rats' – in large part because his administration refuses to properly fund the Sanitation Department. Michael Nagle Advertisement 'Having a severely deficient lot cleaning program only undermines other efforts by DSNY and your administration to 'Get Stuff Clean,'' wrote Ariola, referring to the mayor's campaign to cleanup city streets. 'It also sends a hypocritical message to New Yorkers that, while residents are required to comply with the rules, to containerize their garbage and clean their own properties or else face fines and penalties, their own city government has no such responsibility. 'We once again ask that you provide DSNY the funding they need to rectify this problem.' 4 A debris-filled vacant lot on Chandler Street in Far Rockaway. Obtained by the New York Post Advertisement The backlog of vacant lots desperately needing a cleaning include one on Chandler Street near Motts Basin in Far Rockaway, Queens, and another disaster at 75 Baltimore Street in Great Kills, Staten Island, according to council members. Both are garbage-filled, weed-strewn eyesores that have become neighborhood dumping grounds covered with abandoned shopping carts, mattresses, furniture and other debris. Rodent complaints to 311 spiked nearly 8% during Adams first two years in office — despite his ballyhooed multi-million dollar war on rats and vow from Day One to make headway against the vermin, The Post has reported. Updated statistics were not immediately available. Sanitation Department spokesman Joshua Goodman insisted Mayor Adams proposed budget for next fiscal year 'makes greater investments in a cleaner city than ever before.' 'The increased funding for cleaning vacant lots allows us to focus on those that pose health risks, those located near schools or parks, and those receiving 311 service requests – not just in the coming year, but for years to come,' he said. 'We can always do more with more, and we look forward to working with the Council to ensure resources are allocated efficiently to areas of greatest need.'
New York Post
14-05-2025
- New York Post
Controversial NYC boardwalk bicycle ban scrapped after local outrage, protests: ‘Bad timing'
The city has pumped the brakes on a divisive new proposal. A controversial bicycle ban on a popular strip of Rockaway Beach's famous boardwalk has been scrapped – less than a month after it was floated – following mass community blowback and protests, The Post has learned. 6 A controversial bicycle ban on a popular strip of Rockaway Beach's famous boardwalk has been scrapped less than a month after it was floated, The Post has learned. Getty Images Advertisement The proposal, which sought to bar speeding cyclists from riding the boardwalk between Beach 108th Street and Beach 73rd Street from Memorial Day weekend through October, was sparked by a string of recent accidents — but it was ultimately no match for outraged locals. NYC Parks rep Elizabeth Walsack rep told a community board meeting Tuesday night that the now-axed proposal was 'bad timing' and said there was a misconception that the motion was an immediate ban. 6 Signage on the boardwalk at the Beach 94 Street Amphitheater in Rockaway Beach, Queens. Helayne Seidman Advertisement 'I'm glad that the Parks Department is going to continue allowing Rockaway residents to enjoy their bikes on the boardwalk this summer, but now we need real enforcement,' Queens council member Joann Ariola told The Post. 'NYPD and [Parks Enforcement Patrol] officers must step up patrols to ensure riders dismount in concession areas, and they need to crack down on the Tour de France-style cyclists treating the boardwalk like a racetrack,' she added. 'This space is meant for leisure, not speed trials, and we cannot put the safety of beachgoers at risk.' 6 Queens Council member Joann Ariola represents the 32nd Council District. Michael Nagle In an interview last week, the council member noted Parks had received 'so many' recent complaints from locals reporting 20-25 cyclists riding at breakneck speed and training for races – but acknowledged that local families should not be penalized for misuse of the beachside respite. Advertisement In lieu of the bicycle block, Parks will kick off the beach season by beefing up signage and dismounting enforcement at the boardwalk's three concession areas at Beach 86th, 97th, and 106th Streets and 'step up' in Parks Enforcement Patrol along the boardwalk 'in an effort to educate and increase compliance.' 6 A cyclist rides down the boardwalk at Rockaway Beach in Queens on July 4, 2020. Bloomberg via Getty Images Speaking at the Tuesday night meeting, Queens parent Andreanna Seymore called the proposed bike ban 'asinine,' likening it to banning swimming at city beaches after a drowning. Instead, she argued Parks should focus on educating both cyclists and pedestrians on boardwalk 'etiquette.' Other residents pointed out that a growing number of non-English speakers in the area may not be able to read signs, and instead urged Parks to install color-coded bike lanes. Advertisement Queens Community Board 14 member Jose Santana told The Post he was stunned that the boardwalk bike lanes aren't painted — only marked with faint stencils. Painting them green, as is customary throughout the city — would be a cost-effective way to ensure universal understanding for both pedestrians and cyclists, he said. 'I am asking for them to do a study on what can be done for it to be safe,' Santana added, 'because while everybody can give opinions, nobody's going to know exactly what's the best way to move forward until a study is done.' 6 About 100 community members attended Queens' Community Board 14 meeting Tuesday night. Wayne Carrington/ NY Post The community board, which also voted on Rockaway Beach Amphitheater noise regulations, voted 30-1 Tuesday night to install the new Parks signage — but emphasized even more needs to be done to ensure safety at the waterfront. 6 Some Rockaway residents pointed out that a growing number of non-English speakers in the area may not be able to read bike regulation signage, and instead urged Parks to install color-coded bike lanes. Wayne Carrington/ NY Post Board chairperson Dolores Orr also called for the entire boardwalk bike lane to be clearly marked and for long-requested safety measures to be implemented: bike lane signs on every other light pole in both directions, an 8 mph speed limit and signage alerting pedestrians and cyclists to crossings and right-of-way rules. Cyclist and pedestrian safety improvements alike have been largely missing from the boardwalk, even after the boardwalk was rebuilt after 2012's Hurricane Sandy. 'When we first saw the design when the boardwalk was being built, we said you can't distinguish the bike lane from the rest of the boardwalk, and we were ignored,' Orr said. Advertisement 'And then when the boardwalk was built and opened, we had the same repeat of that concern, and it's been every year since,' she added. 'We're [also] asking for the following signage, and most of it was, again, asked from the day the boardwalk opened.'
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Money grab': NYC Council bill aims to overturn compost rules
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The New York City Council introduced a new bill Thursday to make composting voluntary after some backlash from angry New Yorkers, officials said. The bill, sponsored by the Common Sense Caucus, seeks to overturn the Department of Sanitation's mandatory composting rules. The bill would give residents the choice to participate in the new recycling program. More Local News The regulations went into effect in October, but the city started enforcing them on April 1. The city has already issued around 2,000 fines, according to NYC Councilwoman Joann Ariola, one of the bill's sponsors along with David Carr, Vickie Paladino, Inna Vernikov, Susan Zhuang, Robert F. Holden, and Kristy Marmorato. 'It's crazy — if that doesn't scream money grab,' Ariola said, who represents District 32. The violations come with a $25 fine for first offenses and increasing fines up to $300 for failure to compost properly. One of her constituents, a senior citizen on a fixed income, called about a fine that she now has to fight. But she's not the only one. Ariola said council members across the five boroughs have received tons of phones calls complaining about the compost regulations. 'This has support across the aisle, and I expect it to pass pretty quickly,' the councilwoman said. New Yorkers are expected to separate compostables from trash, including leaf and yard waste, food scraps, prepared and cooked foods, used paper goods and pizza boxes. The city collected 2.5 million pounds of compostables that would have otherwise gone to landfill, according to DSNY. In just the first week, the city collected 240% more compostable material than the year before. 'This works,' said a spokesperson for DSNY. For more information on composting rules, click here. Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NYC's ‘Open Streets' revising rules to use public space for profit: ‘Fresh kind of hell'
The city is selling its streets. The Department of Transportation recently unveiled a shocking rule change that would privatize its already-controversial 'Open Streets' program by allowing restaurants and other businesses to operate on roadways and public spaces at roughly 200 locations. The rule would also apply to 74 city-designated 'public plazas' — including a 12-block-long stretch of Broadway in Times Square and Willoughby Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn. The rule would allow concession agreements with the businesses, and the city would use politically-connected nonprofits, civic groups and quasi-government agencies as 'partners' overseeing these sites. These partners — which include the North Brooklyn Open Streets Community Coalition and Hudson Yards Hell's Kitchen Alliance — would choose the concessionaires, who'd be handed control of as much as half the space of each car-free area. The DOT has yet to iron out how much outdoor seating restaurants and other concessionaires will be able to offer. 'Let me get this straight: the Bicycle Bolsheviks at DOT reclaimed the streets for The People, in order to turn them over to…Capitalists?!' said NYC Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens), upon learning of the rule change. 'I don't recall reading that in the Communist Manifesto. I guess [the] Open Streets [program is] just open for business. What a bunch of car-hating hypocrites.' Most Open Street sites are usually a single block barricaded from traffic except emergency vehicles, but some are much larger, including a 26-block strip of 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, the city renamed 'Paseo Park.' Many are near or smack in the middle of residential neighborhoods like Jackson Heights that lack parkland, supporters say. But many drivers hate the programs, saying it creates more traffic. Street closures also make it difficult for first responders to deal with emergency calls and are a huge problem for elderly pedestrians and the disabled to navigate, critics have said. Shannon Phipps, a Brooklyn activist and founder of the Berry Street Alliance, blasted the rule change as a brazen attempt at 'monetizing and profiting for the network of private entities tied to the lobbyists and politicians' pushing an anti-car agenda on New Yorkers. 'It is disingenuous; it's classic bait-and-switch,' said Phipps, a staunch critic of a massive 'Open Streets' site stretching 1.3 miles along Berry Street in Williamsburg. 'Our biggest concern is the conversion of Open Streets into entertainment and commercial spaces, and the negative impacts of living within close proximity of these sites. This rule clearly shifts the primary purpose of Open Streets to profit over people, [and] entertainment and drawing crowds. A fresh kind of hell, especially on weekends.' The city is currently fending off a pending federal lawsuit alleging the program discriminates against people with disabilities who rely on vehicles to travel. Jackson Heights activist Kathy Farren, 71, said she's considering moving because the street closures along 34th Avenue have made it difficult for her husband, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, to get around. Farren predicted 'the rule change is only going to make' the neighborhood's overall quality of life worse. 'The language in the new rules is vague, so there's probably going to be no control over what goes on based off what I've seen in the past, so I should probably put my [co-op] up for sale now,' she said. The Open Streets program was created in April 2020 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio as a temporary measure to help New Yorkers gather safely outdoors during the pandemic. The City Council made it permanent in 2021, and Mayor Eric Adams has since expanded it to roughly 200 sites as part of an agenda aimed at limiting car use. The DOT's pedestrian plaza program was launched in 2008 under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg. DOT spokesman Vincent Barone called the agency's plan 'a small rule adjustment' that 'will help bring in resources to keep DOT's Open Street and Plazas clean, well-managed, and welcoming to all.' 'These public spaces can better support local small businesses while also providing clear paths for pedestrians, ample space for public use, and programming,' he said. He claimed there's 'no evidence to suggest the program has slowed any response times.'
