PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dirk McCall de Palomá, Executive Director of Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID), on Waste Containerization
2:01:50
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122 sec
Dirk McCall de Palomá, Executive Director of Sunnyside Shines BID, testified about the challenges smaller BIDs face in implementing waste containerization proposals. He expressed concerns about funding, logistics, and the impact on their current operations.
- Highlighted the financial limitations of smaller BIDs compared to larger, well-funded BIDs that have already implemented containerization
- Pointed out practical issues such as siting of containers, increased staffing needs, and the current struggle with overflowing trash cans
- Emphasized that while not opposed to containerization, smaller BIDs need support mechanisms and funding to implement these changes effectively
Dirk McCall de Palomá
2:01:50
Thank you.
2:01:51
Thank you for this opportunity to bring testimony.
2:01:53
I'd like to thank chairwoman, Juan and for the contracts committee and chair Sean Abreu from the sanitation committee.
2:01:59
My name is Dirk McCall De Paloma, and I'm the executive director of the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District in Queens.
2:02:06
This is an incredibly important topic, and as you can see, we have a large number of people from the bid association because this proposal will affect all the smaller bids across the city.
2:02:16
We cover 12 blocks on the north and south sides of Queens Boulevard from 38th Street to 50th Street and the first six blocks of Greenpoint Avenue, the first block of Roosevelt Avenue.
2:02:24
Our assessments are mere 360,000 annually.
2:02:27
We're not even one of the smaller bids, but we're not well financed like the Downtown Alliance or Times Square Alliance.
2:02:32
The bids that the sanitation department rightfully points out can do can containerization and have already done so because they have the funds to do it.
2:02:40
We contract out our street sanitation work to Street Plus, as we have since our form foundation in 9 in 2020 08.
2:02:47
And our street team are very good at cleaning the sidewalks, making sure the trash cans are emptied.
2:02:52
Queens Boulevard has a lot of restaurants.
2:02:55
We have to empty these trash cans twice a day.
2:02:58
If we're not emptying them, the trash is gonna be overflowing.
2:03:01
It's gonna be everywhere.
2:03:03
The the large trash cans that they had have been replaced by smaller trash cans that only take up half the trash, so it's already problematic.
2:03:12
But with we appreciate these goals, but these goals, there's no mechanism to figure out how we're gonna pay for it, how we're gonna make certain the bids are able to do this.
2:03:20
We're not opposed to containerization.
2:03:22
We would support this, but siting, you had to figure out where you're gonna put these, put these bins.
2:03:27
Where are they gonna go?
2:03:28
Who's gonna pay for the bins?
2:03:29
The Department of Sanitation used to have the city bin program where you could apply and you they would pay you back for buying the first city bin.
2:03:36
We tried to do that.
2:03:37
We weren't successful in doing that.
2:03:40
We need to have a mechanism where we're gonna be able to fund siting these additional storage locations, figuring out how we're gonna pay for additional staff to transport, the trash bags.
2:03:50
We have at least 2 trash bags per trash can.
