NYC homeowners might not be getting the free garbage cans the City Council promised – as legislators and Mayor Eric Adams literally fight over trash.
Adams revealed this week he won’t sign off on $14.5 million in taxpayer dough to give away hundreds of thousands of specially secure bins to New Yorkers as part of his war on NYC rats.
The bins are supposed to go to owners of one- and two-family homes with the city refunding those who already purchased them, provided they are enrolled in the state’s School Tax Relief (STAR) program.
The giveaway was supposed to begin Friday under legislation sponsored by Yusef Salaam (D-Manhattan) that the Council unanimously approved in February with a veto-proof majority.
Instead, Council members this week were told to come up with the $14.5 million on their own — enough to cover about 265,000 one-and two family households, by NYC Independent Budget Office estimates.
The City Council has its own taxpayer-funded budget that it uses to pay staff, fund pet projects in their district and for other initiatives.
It was the latest salvo fired in an ongoing feud between the city’s executive and legislative branches, which also this week included Adams vetoing a City Council measure that would have blocked Bally’s from opening a Bronx casino and another that would decriminalize illegal vending.
A vast majority of NYC property owners will be required to use city-issued bins with secure lids by June 2026. They range in cost from $43.88 for 25-gallon containers to $53.01 to 45-gallon bins — a tab the Council believes should be picked up by the city for many New Yorkers.
Reps for the mayor said the Council should have addressed the bill’s funding before agreeing last month on a new $115.9 billion budget for this fiscal year – especially since Adams previously complained the trash-bin giveaway plan was fiscally irresponsible.
But Adams has an obligation to abide by the new law, and the Council believed the money for the bins was covered by $32 million of permanent new funding he set aside for the Department of Sanitation to keep NYC clean, some members said.
“The mayor has an ax to grind … This was never supposed to be funded by the City Council,” said Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens). “[Adams] is putting up the middle-finger to middle-class taxpayers.”
“Homeowners in the STAR program are predominantly seniors and one of the most vulnerable groups in the city. That’s why the … legislation to provide free garbage bins to these residents was so important,” said Councilwoman Lynn Schulman (D-Queens).
“The city must take care of its most precious constituents.”
Salaam did not return messages.
Liz Garcia, an Adams spokeswoman, said “it is unfortunate that the City Council irresponsibly passed an unfunded law and then did not prioritize funding for it during our recent budget negotiations.”
“We will continue to work to provide the most affordable options to New Yorkers and send the rats packing out of our city,” Garcia said.
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