PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tiera Mack, Executive Director of Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District (BID)
2:03:59
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119 sec
Tiera Mack, Executive Director of the Pitkin Avenue BID in Brownsville, testifies against mandatory containerization for BIDs in commercial corridors. She outlines the BID's current sanitation efforts and budget, highlighting the challenges and costs associated with containerization.
- The BID currently spends $145,000 on sanitation, with $92,000 from their assessment and $51,000 from grants.
- They handle 39,000 bags of trash per year, with only a third currently containerized.
- Mack cites issues such as illegal dumping, increased labor costs, maintenance expenses, and limited public space as challenges to full containerization.
Tiera Mack
2:03:59
Hi.
2:03:59
Thank you for having us.
2:04:00
My name is Tiara Mack.
2:04:02
I am the executive director of the Pickin Avenue bid in Brownsville, and I am a current city bank user opposed to mandatory containerization for bids in commercial corridors.
2:04:10
The Pickin Avenue bid has an assessment of $225,000 We cover 32 block faces and currently hold 52 litter baskets over 64 corners.
2:04:19
The Pick n' Avenue bid has both in house sanitation and a vendor.
2:04:22
In FY 24, our in house vendor and sanitation staff provided 6200 hours of service.
2:04:28
And while the vendor provided 2,100 hours at 3299 an hour, pick and bid did 4,000 hours at $19 an hour.
2:04:36
In FY 24, our total spend on sanitation was $145,000 with the bid assessment covering 92,000 and grants covering 51,000.
2:04:45
And the majority of that is from the small bid grant, which is not baseline or guaranteed year over year.
2:04:49
We do 39,000 bags of trash a year.
2:04:52
We are able to containerize a third of them.
2:04:54
We currently have 13 modules over 3 locations, and they hold 65, 50 gallon bags.
2:04:59
The bid team containerizes about 3 hours a day, and that's $20,000 a year.
2:05:04
Though commercial corridor containerization has many benefits, there are also many limitations, such as illegal dumping, which counteracts the intention of the program, Staff and labor costs.
2:05:13
This is a $20,000 initiative in addition to our street sweeping.
2:05:17
Pay equity.
2:05:18
In house and vendor staff who receive lower pay are expected to do the jobs of DSNY staff.
2:05:23
Maintenance costs.
2:05:24
Since our installation, a bid has spent about $7,500 on lock replacement, door repair, and other related expenses.
2:05:30
The fight over public space, the community moving units from the curb to the sidewalk will prevent DSNY pickup, and reduced parking is crucial in bids that are further away from train stations and have limited parking spaces or lots, such as on Pickin Avenue.
2:05:44
So while we do believe in containerization, and I've been doing it for 2 years, it is extremely difficult, extremely costly, and there is no additional funds to help us do this.
2:05:53
And it's not feasible in all districts because of the limited amount of public space.
2:05:58
Thank you.
