PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jim Martin, Executive Director of Association of Community Employment (ACE), on Containerization Concerns
2:07:05
·
149 sec
Jim Martin, Executive Director of ACE, testified about significant concerns regarding the planned rollout of containerization in NYC. He highlighted the potential negative impacts on ACE's operations, which provide supplemental sanitation services across the five boroughs and employment opportunities for individuals with histories of homelessness, incarceration, and addiction.
- ACE removed 900,000 bags of garbage from litter receptacles across council districts last year, and the new DSNY directive prohibiting leaving tied-up trash bags near public receptacles would be operationally and economically infeasible for them.
- Compliance with the new requirements would significantly reduce ACE's ability to provide essential services like street sweeping, graffiti removal, and sidewalk power washing.
- If unable to meet the terms of the cleanup initiative funding due to these changes, ACE may have to terminate the employment of over 150 full-time graduates from their workforce development program.
Jim Martin
2:07:05
Alright.
2:07:07
Good afternoon, chairs of Brady and Juan, members of the committees on sanitation contracts.
2:07:11
I'm Jim Martin, executive director of ACE, Association of Community Employment.
2:07:15
ACE is a citywide nonprofit that supports New Yorkers who have histories of homelessness, incarceration, and addiction by providing job training, work experience, and a lifetime support network that helps participants achieve economic independence.
2:07:29
We are widely known in the council for our work providing supplemental sanitation services to many council districts here in the city, working with over 40 council members across 5 boroughs.
2:07:40
We are so deeply grateful for the city council's continued support of ACE's supplemental sanitation services through the cleanup initiative.
2:07:47
As you know, this funding not only helps to keep the city clean but also offers life changing employment opportunities for our workforce development program participants.
2:07:55
We have significant concerns about the planned rollout of the of containerization, including the DSNY directive that ACE is prohibited from leaving tied up trash bags adjacent to public garbage receptacles between DSNY pickups.
2:08:08
Instead, DSNY will require require us and our local bid partners to either identify alternative off street collection locations or to transport the bag trash to DSNY facilities ourselves.
2:08:19
Unlike bids, which are localized, ACE works over 5 boroughs.
2:08:24
This will be both operationally and economically infeasible for us, and attempting to comply with this requirement will significantly impact our ability to deliver direct services.
2:08:33
For context, last year, ACE removed 900 1,000 bags of garbage from litter receptacles across council districts.
2:08:39
Asking our workers to transport or truck these bags multiple blocks or even across the borough is simply impossible.
2:08:46
Even if more storage solutions are identified, by complying with this requirement, ACE crews will spend significantly more time moving trash to designated drop off points and less time providing the services that New Yorkers have come to rely on from us, including street sweeping, graffiti removal, senior snow removal, and sidewalk power washing, in turn negatively impacting the quality of life for 100 of 1000 of New Yorkers.
2:09:08
Should the implementation of this policy be, result in ACE being unable to meet the terms of the cleanup initiative funding, we would have no choice but to terminate the employment of over a 150 full time graduates of our workforce development program.
2:09:20
These
Shaun Abreu
2:09:21
men and
Jim Martin
2:09:21
women have worked hard in ACE's programs to come barriers through employment.
2:09:24
They work very hard.
2:09:25
They do so faithfully serving
Shaun Abreu
2:09:27
the student every day.
2:09:28
I hope
Jim Martin
2:09:29
I hope that you will consider those folks when you, take the measure under consideration.
2:09:33
Thank you.
Joshua Goodman
2:09:33
You got it.
