REMARKS
Council Member Christopher Marte shares remarks before questions
1:19:58
·
73 sec
Council Member Marte opens the oversight hearing by praising the Department of Sanitation's work and policy decisions.
- He commends the agency for removing black bags from streets, improving cleanliness in areas like Tribeca during peak tourism season.
- However, he joins colleagues in calling for fully funding and baselining the community compost program.
- Marte states that dozens of compost workers have lost jobs, impacting thousands of New Yorkers who relied on the program for waste disposal and education.
- He urges the Commissioner to use her influence to restore the community compost program, warning that failing to do so will destroy communities.
Christopher Marte
1:19:58
Thank you, Chair, Brandon, and everybody, and thank you commissioner for being here.
1:20:03
Wanna start off like Lincoln Rassler.
1:20:04
We're truly impressed by all the worker agency does every single day.
1:20:08
Thousands of people out in the streets serving the millions of New Yorkers and I've seen the difference with some of your policy decisions, especially taking black bags off the streets.
1:20:18
We've walked through Tribeca and Zoho and seen the overnight changes.
1:20:22
For those communities, especially during this peak tourism season.
1:20:26
So thank you so much for that.
Dilcy Benn
1:20:27
Thank you.
Christopher Marte
1:20:27
However, I joined all my other colleagues, especially our chair of Rayu, in saying we need to fully fund community compost and bring it back and hopefully baseline it.
1:20:38
Today, dozens of workers throughout the city don't have a job.
1:20:42
What's even worse?
1:20:43
Those dozens of workers served thousands of New Yorkers every single week and throughout the week, providing them with an opportunity to get rid of their waste scraps and give them the education that they need to help save our city and our planet.
1:20:58
So hopefully, you can use your position and your influence to make sure that we fully get them back because if we don't, If we don't get them back this year, then it's going to create a pattern that's going to really destroy our communities.