In January, Yechiel Bromberg got a $300 summons for leaving his garbage cans outside his Midwood home when it was not a trash collection day. At an Environmental Control Board hearing, he successfully beat the ticket after showing the judge surveillance footage taken outside his house. The video revealed that the DSNY enforcement agent who issued the ticket had blatantly lied—the cans were by Bromberg's door, behind the fence, not on the sidewalk. Here's the video (the third one in a series). Skip to the 9 minute mark, where the DSNY agent issues the ticket then glumly wanders back to his car, clouded in an almost palpable miasma of self-loathing. more ›

In yet another installment of pick-a-public-servant's brain on Reddit, a Sanitation Department worker is asked the question that has plagued many a wrinkled nose: "Why is Chinatown always twice as dirty as the rest of Manhattan?" After a gentle attempt at parrying ("Do I really need to explain that?") the worker responds, "Just a lot of filthy people down there. That's the best explanation I can give. I don't think it matters how hard they work to try and keep it clean." more ›

Metro has an interview with NYU professor and Department of Sanitation anthropologist-in-residence, Robin Nagle. The piece comes on the cusp of “Loaded Out: Making a Museum,” an exhibition Nagle helped curate which focuses on the DSNY's history and its vital role in shaping the city. The exhibit opens tomorrow and will run for a full month, but she mentions this is just the first step in creating a Sanitation Museum.Police and firefighters have museums. Why... more ›