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Queens councilman rides with DSNY crew, spotlights sanitation issues in neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19

moya garbage
Councilman Francisco Moya works a shift with a DSNY crew highlighting garbage issues in Corona and East Elmhurst. (Photo courtesy of Moya’s office)

To shed some light on the needs of neighborhoods hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Councilman Francisco Moya joined members of the Department of Sanitation on a “ride-along” through his district.

Throughout the route that stretched from East Elmhurst to Corona, Moya picked up trash from receptacles and spoke with residents and businesses along Northern Boulevard between 114th Street and Junction Boulevard in an effort to ensure city resources are prioritized in ZIP codes that were most impacted during the coronavirus emergency.

“East Elmhurst and Corona are the communities hardest hit by this pandemic with the garbage issues exacerbated by the budget cuts,” Moya said. “I was proud to join DSNY workers, who do an incredible job during difficult circumstances, to service the litter baskets along the route I restored funding for.”

DSNY’s operating budget was slashed by $106 million last summer as the city’s shutdown created a budget crisis. Throughout the pandemic, Moya has heightened efforts to maintain and clean up neighborhood parks and streets, including reinstating funding for garbage collection; partnering with the ACE program; restoring parts of Flushing Meadows Corona Park; and leading multiple community cleanups including those at abandoned properties.

“Every New Yorker deserves a clean street, and DSNY is proud of our work ensuring that they have one,” said DSNY Commissioner Edward Grayson, a Ridgewood native who currently resides in Middle Village. “I want to thank Council member Moya for his commitment to funding additional basket service, his advocacy on behalf of sanitation workers, and his partnership in keeping litter off the streets of Sanitation District Q3, where I began my career as a sanitation worker. We remind all residents to use litter baskets properly, and to report illegal dumping or basket misuse to 311.”

The DSNY ride-along is the latest of Moya’s ongoing efforts to ensure District 21 has clean and safe neighborhoods, which include graffiti removal, community cleanups, and addressing residential and business garbage concerns.

“I am going to continue to fight in the City Council to ensure we bring these resources here and restore the services that were cut,” Moya said. “I also want to call on the community to do their part and thank DSNY and neighborhood volunteers for their work so we can have cleaner streets and parks.”