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REMARKS
Council Member Justin Brannan's opening remarks on the FY2026 executive budget hearing for the Department of Sanitation
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Council Member Justin Brannan opens the first hearing of the FY2026 executive budget process, focusing on the Department of Sanitation. He provides an overview of the proposed budget for DSNY, highlighting key figures and increases from the preliminary budget. Brannan emphasizes the importance of a clean city and outlines the Council's priorities for sanitation services.
- The proposed FY2026 budget for DSNY is $1.97 billion, about 1.7% of the total city budget
- Brannan mentions specific budget requests made by the Council, including funding for vendor enforcement, waste bin programs, and illegal dumping cameras
- He stresses that budgets are "moral documents" reflecting the city's values and commitments
Justin Brannan
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Okay.
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Good morning.
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Welcome to the first hearing of the FY twenty six executive budget process.
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I'm council member Justin Brannen, proud to chair the city council's committee on finance.
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Today we're gonna kick things off with the Department of Sanitation followed later today by the Department for the Aging.
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I'm joined by my colleague Council Member Sean Abreu, Chair of the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management.
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We've been joined so far this morning by Councilmembers Lewis, Ayala, Carr, Nurse Moya, Menin, Zwang.
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And that's it for now.
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Welcome Commissioner Lohan and your team.
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Thanks for being here and taking the time to answer our questions today.
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On May 1, the administration dropped their executive financial plan for FY '20 '6 through '29.
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It includes a proposed FY twenty six budget of a hundred and $15,100,000,000.
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The sanitation slice of that is 1,970,000,000.00 which is about 1.7% of the total plan.
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That's a $70,000,000 increase over the preliminary budget mostly to continue critical services like curbside recycling and containerization at homes and institutions.
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As of March, sanitation's head count was up by two fifty nine over last year's budget.
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I'll talk about priorities here and the council's preliminary budget response.
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We made some very clear asks.
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We asked for $7,700,000 to formalize a permanent vendor enforcement unit.
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We asked for $10,700,000 for a waste bin program so every eligible New Yorker has the official NYC bin.
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$10,000,000 in capital for more illegal dumping cameras across the city.
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And we called for baseline funding to clean up neglected lots and to keep our neighborhoods looking good.
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We believe that a clean city isn't just nice to have.
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It's essential.
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It improves health, safety, pride and property value.
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It makes everything else possible.
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I always say a clean city is a safe city and a safe city is ultimately the foundation for everything else.
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We also like to say around here budgets aren't just spreadsheets.
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They are moral documents.
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They reflect what we value and what we're willing to fight for in this council and in this city.
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The council is committed to delivering a final budget that puts New Yorkers first.
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And that means cleaner streets, safer neighborhoods and stronger communities.
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And we consider DSNY as a partner in that work.
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So today I'll mostly be focused on the PEG restorations and what that means for the department's ability to continue doing its job.
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But for now, I want to turn things over to my co chair for this hearing, council member Sean Abreu for his remarks.