The New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations issued a report claiming that only 2% of the city’s streets are “filthy,” baffling residents of the Big Apple.
The office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams evaluates city streets from a scale of 1.0 to 3.0. According to the scale, a score of 3.0 is “a street where litter is highly concentrated along the curbs and overflowing onto the sidewalk.”
A rating that is 1.75 or above is considered “filthy,” while anything below 1.75 ranges from “acceptably clean” to “not acceptably clean.” The responses were recorded by observers who inspect streets in each district every month.
The report, which was last updated on Oct. 20, ranked the Financial District and Upper East Side as the cleanliest districts. Despite the massive amount of tourism near Times Square, only 0.2% of Midtown and Theater District streets were considered filthy, along with 0.78% of Hell’s Kitchen streets.
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People make their way past trash bags on Oct. 18, 2022 in New York City.
(Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)
“You can’t even walk to throw out your garbage because there’s rats, it’s disgusting,” a Morrisania, Bronx resident told FOX 5 New York. Another resident said: “Those numbers do not add up, no.”
Morrisania, where 6.3% of streets were recorded as “filthy,” was considered the dirtiest neighborhood. East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Borough Park – all in Brooklyn – trailed behind, with over 5% of each neighborhood’s streets being considered filthy.
The report comes as rat sightings have spiked in the Big Apple. At least 7,400 New Yorkers reported rat sightings to the city’s 3-1-1 service in April alone.
People make their way past trash bags on Oct. 18, 2022 in New York City. In an effort to deter rats and keep the area from seeming too dirty, New Yorkers will have to wait until 8 p.m. to dump their trash out.
(Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)
New York City’s Scorecard system, which has been in use for nearly five decades, has been criticized for being an inaccurate indicator of sanitation in New York.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli questioned the approach on Tuesday, saying it was based on “drive-by inspections”. DiNapoli cited a previous audit that determined the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) approached the issue ineffectively.
“The audit, which covered the period Jan. 1, 2015 to Sept. 27, 2019, concluded that DSNY needed to improve its communication, coordination, and record keeping processes to efficiently and effectively address persistent cleanliness problems on NYC streets and sidewalks,” DiNapoli said.
A rat is seen by a trash bin in New York, United States on October 19, 2022.
(Getty Images)
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DiNapoli’s office suggested that officials address any unresolved issues by November 24.
