On April 17, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a major expansion of the city’s trash containerization program, with two Bronx districts required to comply by the end of 2027.
The two Bronx areas included are Community District 2, which covers Hunts Point and Longwood, and Community District 5, including University Heights, Mount Hope, Morris Heights and Fordham Heights.
The Bronx districts, plus one in each of the four remaining boroughs, are part of the mayor’s strategy to implement containerization across all 59 NYC districts by the end of 2031.
The plan announced April 17 covers large residential buildings, where managers will be required to put loose trash bags in Empire Bins stationed on the street. Throughout the next year, the Department of Sanitation will assign Empire Bins to buildings of more than 30 units, Mamdani said.
For medium buildings with 10 to 30 units, managers will have the option to use Empire Bins or the smaller “wheelie bins” that are already required for smaller residential properties and businesses.
“In the wealthiest city in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have their sidewalks covered in garbage,” Mamdani said in announcing the plan. “By finishing the job on containerization, we will ensure New York City’s streets remain the envy of the world.”
The move was supported by elected officials in the Bronx, which has seen its fair share of rat and rodent problems. The city is already focusing on the Grand Concourse area as a Rat Mitigation Zone, which saw nearly 3,300 rodent complaints to 311 between 2023 and 2025.
Bronx Council Member Justin Sanchez, who chairs the sanitation committee and represents CD 2, said he was thrilled by the opportunity for the Bronx to lead the expansion.
“For far too long, Bronx sites have seen dirty streets and have seen that we don’t get the pilot programs as they’re being implemented. We don’t get being put on the front side,” he said at a press conference with Mamdani. “In this mayoral administration, the Bronx is being seen, and we are so grateful.”
Council Member Oswald Feliz, who represents part of Community District 5 said in a statement that he’s thankful to the mayor for taking initiative to improve the quality of life for Bronx residents.
“I am excited to see the expansion of residential containerization in the Bronx. This is a first step in resolving the longstanding issue of rats and illegal dumping in our streets.”
The containerization expansion builds upon the success of West Harlem, where Empire Bins were piloted starting last June and have resulted in noticeably cleaner streets, according to the mayor’s administration.
Along with the Bronx, the other NYC districts required to meet the full containerization requirement by the end of 2027 are Brooklyn CD 8 (Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Weeksville); Manhattan CD 2 (West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Greenwich Village, Nolita); Queens CD 2 (Sunnyside, Hunters Point, Woodside); and Staten Island CD 1 (North Shore).
The next expansion phase could add as many as 10,000 Empire Bins on NYC streets, Mamdani said.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
