DSNYDSNY

A N N U A L R E P O R T 1 9 9 9

City of New YorkDepartment of Sanitation

Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mayor

Kevin P. Farrell, Commissioner

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

2 Message From The Mayor3 Letter From The Commissioner

DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION BUREAUS:

4 OperationsCleaning and CollectionEnforcement DivisionCommunity Services

13 Support OperationsMotor EquipmentOperations SupportBuilding MaintenanceEngineeringCapital Budget and Engineering Support

18 Waste DisposalWaste ExportPermit and Inspection UnitEnvironmental Enforcement Unit

20 Solid Waste ManagementSolid Waste Management and EngineeringSolid Waste Management Planning and Facilities DevelopmentFresh Kills Landfill Gas Control and RecoveryFresh Kills Composting FacilityMarine Infrastructure and Dredging UnitPermitting UnitLandfill Engineering UnitOffice of Real EstateWaste Prevention, Reuse and RecyclingFall Leaf and Yard Waste CompostingChristmas Tree Collection and Composting

23 Administration and Financial ManagementWork Experience ProgramPlanning and BudgetFiscal ServicesHuman ResourcesMedical DivisionManagement Information Services

25 Legal AffairsContracts, Bid Solicitations, Requests for Proposals,

and Environmental EnforcementLitigation Support and LiaisonLegislation and Intergovernmental AffairsEmployment and Disciplinary Matters

26 Equal Employment Opportunity Office

27 Public Affairs

Department of SanitationAnnual Report 1999

Congratulations on an historic year in theDepartment of Sanitation. As we come evercloser to the closing of the Fresh Kills

Landfill, the innovative efforts by your Departmentto find solutions to the new challenges which havearisen regarding New York City’s garbage are to becommended. The interim plan to export our wastehas gone smoothly, and daily operations at Sanitationcontinue like a well oiled machine. Once the Landfillcloses, a new era for your Department will begin.

Additionally, New York City is the cleanestthat it has been in over a generation. For the firsttime in the twenty-four years that the City has keptrecords, over 87% of the City’s streets have beenrated “acceptably clean or better.” Also for the firsttime ever, not one of the Department’s 59 sanitation districts, cover-ing over 6,200 miles of streets, has been rated “dirty.”

Achievements like these are an integral facet in the City’squality of life and are directly attributable to the quality of work thatgoes on in the Sanitation Department today.

New York’s Sanitation Department, like many other aspects ofNew York, is a unique and essential service unparalleled in the UnitedStates.The 9,500 men and women of the Department, uniformedand civilian, can hold their heads high looking back on the achieve-ments of 1999 and forward to the challenges of 2000.

Again, congratulations on a job well done.

Message from the Mayor

Rudolph W. GiulianiMayor

Dear Mayor Giuliani:

I t is with great pride that I present theDepartment of Sanitation’s 1999 Annual Report.The mandate of this agency is to keep New York

City clean and sanitary, a directive which is of para-mount importance to the well being and quality oflife to the citizens of New York City.

With your support and direction, we standon the threshold of closing the Fresh Kills Landfill.This Department has begun the enormous task ofexporting New York City’s solid municipal waste.With strategic thinking and resourceful planning, hard work, anddetermination, the various bureaus within the Department ofSanitation have made the transition from disposing of 13,000 tons ofwaste at Fresh Kills to efficient exportation.This has been accom-plished with no interruption of the daily services we provide.

The Department of Sanitation looks forward to the excitingchanges ahead. Our commitment to meeting our mandate to NewYork City and its citizens is stronger than ever. Thank you.

Letter from the Commissioner

Kevin P. FarrellCommissioner

Bureau ofCleaningand Collection

The Bureau of Cleaningand Collection (BCC) isthe largest and most

visible unit of the Department,responsible for delivering allcleaning and collection servicesto the citizens of New YorkCity. This includes the removalof snow and ice from Citystreets.

Refuse Collection

The Department is responsible for providing reg-ularly scheduled curbside and containerized refusecollection service to every household in New YorkCity. Curbside sites receive service two to three timesa week, depending on population density.Containerized sites may vary from one to three times aweek service. On a weekly basis, the Departmentassigns 4884 curbside collection trucks to pick-up51,000 tons of refuse, and 390 containerized trucks tocollect an additional 7000 tons. In addition, dedicatedschool collection trucks are assigned to service allpublic schools, five days a week.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)developments receives weekly refuse collection fromdedicated Department of Sanitation trucks.

Recycling Collection

As of April 10, 2000, the Department providesweekly curbside recycling collection to all New YorkCity households. Approximately, 2,500 trucks are dis-patched weekly to service both the curbside and con-tainerized stops throughout the City. Currently, theDepartment collects mixed paper, consisting of corru-gated cardboard, newspapers, magazines and cata-logues, telephone directories, office paper, wrapping

OperationsMichael T. Carpinello — First Deputy Commissioner

paper, paper bags, smooth cardboard and discardedmail. The types of metal, glass and plastic collectedinclude metal cans, glass jars, plastic bottles and jugs,aluminum foil and trays, metal furniture, hardware,appliances, beverage cartons and drink boxes.

The curbside program diverts 10,500 tons and thecontainerized program diverts an additional 1,500tons of recyclables weekly from the waste stream. Theoverall diversion rate for the recycling program is20%. Other recycling programs consist of Christmastree collection, curbside leaf collection, self-help bulklocations, and collection of special wasteitems.

Street Cleaning

The Department of Sanitation main-tains the cleanliness of more than 6,000miles of streets. Fiscal Year 1999 was arecord-breaking year for street cleanliness.Eighty-seven percent of the City’s streetswere rated acceptably clean, an improve-ment over 1998’s record of 85 percent.Each month in 1999 had a rating of 84percent or better and each district had anannual rating of at least 73 percent. TheDepartment attributes the achievement ofrecord cleanliness levels to improved man-agement of the cleaning programs, includ-ing the Work Experience Program streetcleaning program, better coordination with other Cityagencies of cleaning around their facilities, coopera-tion with the Business Improvement Districts andincreased merchant participation in programs such asAdopt-a-Basket. Under this program, a merchantagrees to help prevent the overflow of the litter basketnear their store by placing a plastic liner in the basket,removing and tying the liner when it is full andreplacing it. Currently, over 820 street litter basketshave been adopted by nearby merchants.

Scorecard Cleanliness Rating

Sanitation’s street cleaning performance is meas-ured independently by the Mayor’s Office ofOperations, which issues a monthly “Scorecard” con-

Operations

taining its findings. During each month, staff of theMayor’s Office inspect streets throughout the City, rat-ing them for cleanliness. To ensure that the ratingshave integrity, the locations inspected are randomlychosen without the prior knowledge of theDepartment.

Tire Disposal

The Department has made it easier for residentsto dispose of tires legally. Previously, tires could bedropped off only at the four Self-Help Centers in theBronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Last year,

the Department established tire drop-offareas at all 59 district garages city-wide. Aspart of the recycling program, these tires aredelivered to a vendor, where they are shred-ded and converted into energy for electrici-ty.

CFC Removal

In 1999, due to Federal requirementsregarding the Clean Air Act, a program wasimplemented citywide by the Department ofSanitation to reclaim Chloro-Fluoro-Carbon(CFC) Gas (a common example which isFreon). It is commonly found in mostrefrigerators, freezers, air conditioners,dehumidifiers and water coolers manufac-tured before the mid-90’s. The UnitedStates Environmental Protection Agency,

which determined that CFC’s have a harmful effect onthe ozone layer, required the Department to develop aprogram to collect CFC appliances without releasingthe CFC into the atmosphere. Residents who wish todispose of CFC appliances call the Sanitation ActionCenter (SAC) for an appointment date for CFC collec-tion. On the appointed day, a specially trained andlicensed Sanitation Worker evacuates the CFC gasfrom the appliance and safely contains the gas. Theevacuated appliance is then tagged with a specialorange decal certifying that the appliance is CFC free.A regular metal, glass and plastic recycling collectiontruck then collects the appliance on the next work day.

Operations

Self-Help Household Bulk

The Department maintains four separate sites where Cityresidents can bring their bulk items seven days a week betweenthe hours of 10:00 A.M. and 5:30 P.M. There is one self-helpcenter of this type in each borough except Manhattan.

Lot Cleaning

The Lot Cleaning Division manages the Department’sNeighborhood Vacant Lot Clean-up Program. TheDepartment counts the actual number of lots cleaned, regard-less of the tonnage removed from each lot, and cleaned 5,559lots in Fiscal Year 1999.

Derelict Vehicle Operations

The Derelict Vehicle Operations (DVO) Unit monitors thereporting and removal of derelict abandoned vehicles from theCity’s streets, lots, parkways, expressways and main thorough-fares. A vehicle is considered to be abandoned if it is left onthe street for more than six hours and has no license plate.Vehicles are deemed derelict when meeting certain criteriawhich vary according to the age and type of vehicle. If a vehi-cle is simply abandoned but not derelict, it is tagged by theDepartment’s field supervisors and referred to the PoliceDepartment for pick-up by their Rotation Tow Program forfinal disposition. If a vehicle is abandoned and derelict, it istagged by Sanitation and removed by private vendors whowork in collaboration with the Department. These privatevendors have revenue generating contracts with Sanitation forthe actual removal of abandoned derelict vehicles. If there isno police report on the vehicle, it is presumed to be aban-doned, and a Notice of Violation is issued to the last regis-tered owner by the Enforcement Division. In Fiscal Year 1999,a total of 14,575 vehicles were removed by vendors, providingthe City with over $1.7 million in revenue from these con-tracts. The number of vehicles processed through the DVOUnit has greatly decreased over the past several years. In FiscalYear 1989 DVO tagged and removed 146,880 derelict vehiclesfrom the streets, whereas in Fiscal Year 1998 DVO removed17,998.

Operations

Enforcement Division

The Enforcement Division, comprised ofSanitation Police and Enforcement Agents,monitors compliance with the health and

administrative laws governing the maintenance ofclean streets, illegal dumping, and the proper storageand disposal of waste and recyclable materials by bothresidents and commercial establishments.

The Sanitation Police are sanitation workers andsupervisors who are fully trained as peace officers.Enforcement Agents are civilians who undergo a com-prehensive classroom and field training program.

In Fiscal Year 1999 the Enforcement Divisionissued 263,021 Notices of Violation (NOVs).Supervisors in the Bureau of Cleaning and Collectionissued an additional 118,138 summonses were issuedby for violations they observed while in the field. Thefive most common infractions for which summonseswere issued were:

INFRACTION # of NOVsDirty Sidewalk 134,370Failure to Sweep 18 inches from Curb 29,801Sidewalk Obstruction 23,773Improper Storage of Receptacles 15,490Loose Rubbish 14,910

Posting Unit

There are six enforcement agents specifically dedi-cated to enforcing illegal posting violations. In FiscalYear 1999, the unit issued over 5,300 illegal postingsummonses Citywide.

Canine Unit

The Enforcement Division has a Canine Unitspecifically dedicated to patrolling for canine viola-tions. This Unit, which operates on a rotational basisthroughout the City, writes summonses for failure toclean up after a dog and failure to properly leash adog. In Fiscal Year 1999, over 5,154 summonses wereissued for these infractions.

Operations

Illegal Dumping

The Illegal Dumping Task Force, which is a spe-cial unit of the Enforcement Division staffed bySanitation Police, focuses on known areas of illegaldumping and responds to complaints. In Fiscal Year1999, the Task Force wrote 752 NOV’s for illegaldumping, which is defined as the depositing or dis-posing of debris of any sort from a vehicle. Both theowner and the operator of the vehicle are consideredliable and both are issued summonses. The vehicle isimpounded until the case is adjudicated by the NewYork City Environmental Control Board unless a bondis posted covering the possible fines. Individuals foundguilty of illegal dumping pay a clean-up fee of $150per cubic yard for solid waste and $1.75 per tire. Thisis in addition to the minimum fine of $1,500 and theassociated storage and administrative fees. If the fineis not paid, the vehicle is sold at public auction. TheDepartment administers two reward programsdesigned to facilitate the reporting and/or investiga-tion of illegal dumping - they are the “BountyProgram” and the “Tips Program.”

The Department uses information provided by thepublic to conduct targeted surveillance. In both pro-grams, those reporting the illegal dumping are eligible toreceive a reward of up to 50 percent of any fine or civilpenalty collected.

Recycling Enforcement

Officers assigned to recycling enforce the com-mercial and residential recycling rules. They alsoenforce Health Department and SanitationDepartment regulations.

Operations

Division of Safety and Training

The Division of Safety and Training isresponsible for all training, administrativeand operational, to ensure that employeeshave the knowledge and skills to performtheir jobs safely and effectively in a haz-ard-free work place. In calendar year1998, the Department established a 25percent accident reduction target, renew-ing its commitment to safe driving andemployee/public safety.

Operations

CommunityServices

The Office of CommunityServices is theDepartment’s service

delivery liaison to elected offi-cials, the city’s CommunityBoards, merchant groups,Business Improvement Districts,civic organizations, businessassociations, and the generalpublic. In addition, the officeprovides support services to theDepartment’s OperationsBureau by preparing materialsregarding neighborhood issues,providing pertinent data on thenumber and types of complaintsand service requests, recom-mending necessary action, andcoordinating development andplanning of both communityand Sanitation programs. Thisoffice serves as the Department’sliaison to the Mayor’sCommunity Assistance Unit,The Mayor’s Anti-Graffiti TaskForce, Mayor’s Action Center,Mayor’s Office of Correspondence Services, the City’sBusiness Improvement Districts, and the Council onthe Environment.

Community Outreach

During 1999, Community Services representativesattended over 70 community meetings and participat-ed in over two dozen school programs. Issues relatingto Sanitation including recycling collection, cleaning,waste disposal, anti-dumping and anti-litter programswere discussed. In addition, extensive education andoutreach focused on improving cleanliness was con-ducted in conjunction with local Community Boards

Operations

and business groups. These out-reach efforts included distributionof various educational materials,as well as verbal dialogue withover 750 merchants on severalcommercial strips throughout thecity.

Community Liaison Unit

The Community Liaison Unitmonitors health violations onvacant lots. This Unit is fundedby the Federal CommunityDevelopment Program. Its man-dates include inspection and pro-cessing of requests to clean vacantlots; investigation of and responseto lot billing disputes; attendanceat service cabinet and civic associ-ation meetings as directed; devel-opment and presentation ofinformational sessions designedto educate the public and fosterHealth and Administrative Code compliance andimprove local conditions; and administration of theDepartment’s school environmental awareness contest- “Team Up to Clean Up” - which is open to 2,500public and private schools in the City.

Sanitation Action Center: (212) 219-8090

The Sanitation Action Center (SAC) is theDepartment’s hotline, with staff responding torequests for service, complaints, inquiries about sani-tation and recycling, and orders for printed material(informational booklets, brochures, recycling stickers).SAC handled over 108,000 calls in Fiscal Year 1999.Service representatives processed over 32,700 Requestsfor Service and Complaints. In addition, SACprocessed more than 43,000 requests for Departmentliterature and recycling decals. Also, the ActionCenter’s automated information system handled morethan 100,000 calls.

Central Correspondence Unit

The Central Correspondence Unit responds toand maintains records of all general correspondencereceived from the public and letters forwarded fromthe Mayor’s Office of Correspondence Services.During Fiscal Year 1999, staff responded to over 2,670pieces of mail.

Operations

Support OperationsJerry Della Corte — Deputy Commissioner

Support Operations designs, purchases, main-tains, and repairs all Department motor vehiclesand equipment; and performs the maintenance

and repair of existing Department facilities; the designand construction of new facilities; and the develop-ment and monitoring of the Department’s CapitalBudget. Support Operations is composed of four sepa-rate Bureaus.

Bureau of MotorEquipment

The Department of Sanitation has approximately5,600 motor vehicles in its fleet, including: col-lection trucks, mechanical street sweepers,

cranes, tractors, front-end loaders, salt spreaders, pas-senger cars, skimmer boats, and large refuse haulers.The Bureau of Motor Equipment (BME) is responsi-ble for designing, buying and maintaining this diversefleet.

Equipment Operations

The largest Support Operations divisionand the direct link to the Bureau of Cleaningand Collection (BCC) and the Bureau of WasteDisposal (BWD) is Equipment Operations. Itstrade title employees are distributed among thefour borough repair shops, 73 BCC locationsand the Fresh Kills Landfill.

Equipment Operations is responsible fordirecting and coordinating repairs and settingoverall priorities, such as scheduling preventa-tive maintenance and upgrade programs, allo-cating manpower and resources and managingwarranty repair activities. The District Shopsare responsible for minor repairs (brakes, mir-ror replacements) whereas borough shops areresponsible for the larger jobs, such as majorcomponent (i.e. engines and transmissions)exchanges, heavy electrical work and any other majorintensive repair that cannot be efficiently handled atthe district shop level.

Support Operations

The Department’s CentralRepair Shop (CRS) is one of thecountry’s largest non-military repairfacilities. CRS is capable of perform-ing any type of vehicle repair rang-ing from an oil change to a com-plete vehicle refurbishment. CRS isresponsible for handling the over-flow from the borough shops, fleetwide upgrade programs, light dutyfleet repairs, component rebuildingand servicing and any major metalwork project that would limit a bor-ough shop’s repair flexibility. Thereare several repair shops locatedwithin CRS - the machine, the body,and the forge shops, as well as thelight-duty vehicle and tire repairshops.

In addition, there are various rebuilding shopscapable of rebuilding vehicle components such asengines, transmissions, hydraulic cylinders, rear ends,pumps, electrical accessories, fuel injectors, vehicleseats and radiators. The Fresh Kills Landfill RepairShop is responsible for the repair and maintenance ofBureau of Waste Disposal equipment that includesheavy duty off road vehicles, cranes, boats, com-pactors.

Vehicle Acquisition and Warranty

The Vehicle Acquisition and Warranty Division(VAWD) consists of three separate Units: NewEquipment, Warranty, and Engineering. The NewEquipment Unit inspects and approves payment of allnew Department vehicles received each year. TheWarranty Unit is responsible for approximately 2,500vehicles that are eligible for warranty repairs at anygiven time. The Engineering Unit consults with vari-ous Department bureaus to develop equipment speci-fications and purchases over 600 pieces of capitalequipment totaling approximately $65 million annual-ly. The Department operates one of the largest fleetsof class eight collection trucks powered by compressednatural gas (CNG). The planned additions of 10 newCNG powered vehicles will increase the total fleet to

26. There are presently 400 alternate fueled passengercars and light-duty trucks in the fleet.

The Engineering Unit constantly seeks to openthe competitive bidding process to more manufactur-ers. Because of the type of heavy-duty equipmentused in the DOS, there is a limited pool of manufac-turers. The ability to play an active role is designingand specifying a vehicle to meet specific Departmentneeds, while standardizing the product allows for bidsthat are more competitive, and opening the contractprocess to more qualified manufacturers.

Export Operations Support

The third phase of the Fresh Kills Landfill closurecommenced in October 1999. For the first time,Department collection trucks are being used to trans-port refuse to collection stations outside the city lim-its. Around the clock maintenance support includingroad service has contributed to the success of thisimportant operation. This has been achieved byadding shifts to provide 24- hour staffing as required.

Materials Management

The Materials Management Division handles allthe parts and materials needs for BME.

Anti-Graffiti

As part of the City’s fight against graffiti, theDepartment’s Bureau of Motor Equipment hasdesigned and built a state-of-the-art anti-graffiti truck.This vehicle is a self-contained unit equipped with apressure washer, an onboard computer, paint, paintcolor dispenser, paint mixer and sprayer and spec-trophotometer. Using this equipment, BME is able todetermine the original color of a graffiti defaced sur-face, prepare and then paint the surface with an exactmatch of the original color, completely covering thegraffiti.

Support Operations

Support Operations

Department personnel built the vehicle forapproximately half the cost of a purchased model.Due to increased need, a second unit is being built.

Administration/Personnel

TheAdministration/Personnel Division is respon-sible for BME’s administrative functions, such as pay-roll, attendance records, time and leave balances, over-time tracking, and employee performance evaluations.It also administers special programs such as the WorkExperience Program (WEP), and the Department’srandom Drug Testing Programs. It also conducts dis-ciplinary hearings.

Fiscal Services /Computer Support

Fiscal Services handles accounting functions forBME. This office is the liaison with the Agency’s cen-tral budget unit. The unit is also responsible for fleetreporting for BME. The daily fleet status and fleet sizeare monitored and tracked with various reports.

Support Operations

Bureau of BuildingMaintenance

The Department of Sanitation has over 200physical locations throughout the city, includ-ing garages, section stations, marine transfer

stations, the Fresh Kills Landfill, repair shops andoffice buildings. The Bureau of Building Maintenance(BBM) is responsible for providing both routinemaintenance and emergency building repairs for thesefacilities. BBM has trade employees of various titlesincluding blacksmiths, carpenters, electricians,painters, plumbers and welders.

Bureau of Engineering

The Bureau of Engineering provides engineeringsupport services to the Department’s operatingbureaus. These services include design draw-

ings and specifications to upgrade and maintain theDepartment’s infrastructure; bidding and awardingconstruction and consultant services contracts; andoverseeing construction work to ensure that it meetsspecifications. The type of projects serviced are relat-ed to the rehabilitation of garages, borough repairshops, marine transfer stations and other facilitiesunder the Department’s jurisdiction.

Bureau of Capital Budgetand Engineering Support

The Bureau of Capital Budget and Engineeringsupport develops, prepares and administers theDepartment’s Annual Four-Year and Ten-Year

Capital Budgets. This responsibility includes coordi-nating, reviewing and monitoring fiscal and policymatters. The Bureau conducts negotiations with theCity Office of Management and Budget, other Mayoraloversight agencies and the City Council until anAdopted Budget results.

The Bureau of Waste Disposal (BWD) receives,transports and disposes of refuse generated byresidents of New York City, City agencies, New

York State agencies, and certain other not-for-profitorganizations that qualify for our services. It also han-dles a small percentage of waste collected by privatecarters and other agencies that pay for the disposal oftheir refuse at Department facilities. BWD is responsi-ble for enforcing the laws and regulations governingthe disposal of hazardous waste, such as asbestos andmedical waste.

BWD operates the Department’s seven marinetransfer stations and a fleet of 89 barges used to trans-port refuse to the Fresh Kill Landfill (FKL). In Fiscal

Year 1999, Fresh Kills Landfill received approxi-mately 9,272 tons of waste per day.

Waste Export

In Fiscal Year 1997, the Department begansoliciting bids from private companies to receive,transfer and transport New York City’s residen-tial and institutional waste for out-of-City dis-posal. Export operations began in 1997 withthe Bronx, followed by Manhattan, and all ofBrooklyn except for three districts, then StatenIsland. Currently, bids are out for the remainingthree districts in Brooklyn and all of Queens.Export operations have worked very well, andthe companies which have won the export bidsquickly process the Department’s trucks, allow-ing the Department to maintain its traditionallyhigh level of collection productivity. Changeswere made to the Department’s main-frame

computer systems in order to ensure that productivitycan be monitored in the same way as it was when theDepartment disposed of waste at Fresh Kills.Transactions from the private vendors scales areuploaded to the Department’s main-frame productivi-ty system throughout the day, allowing each district tomonitor its operations daily.

Permit and Inspection Unit

The Permit and Inspection Unit (PIU) is respon-sible for the permitting and regulation of certain solid

Waste Disposal

waste transfer stations and fill mate-rial operations in New York City.The PIU has six Sanitation PoliceOfficers and three supervisingLieutenants who conduct regularinspections to ensure compliancewith the Rules and Regulations gov-erning solid waste transfer stations.

Fill Material Operations (FMO)consists of the grading, leveling,surcharging and compacting of fillmaterials for the purpose of landalteration and improvement. ThePIU issues permits and conductsregular inspections of FMO’s toensure that fill material, and notsolid waste destined for disposal at alicensed landfill, is used to gradeand fill lands within New York City.Additionally, the unit plays a criticalrole in identifying and closing illegaldump sites and not fully permitted facilities.

In calendar year 1999, the unit conducted over3,000 inspections of solid waste transfer stations andfill material operations and wrote over 600 Notices ofViolation (NOV’s) for infraction of Department rules.Violations issued by the PIU have penalties rangingfrom $2,500 to $10,000 and are litigated at the NewYork City Environmental Control Board.

Environmental Enforcement Unit

The Environmental Enforcement Unit (EEU)enforces the law and regulations governing the storage,transportation and disposal of asbestos, medical waste,and hazardous waste. In response to complaints andimproper handling and disposal of hazardous materi-als, this year the Unit responded to 750 emergencies.The EEU works closely with the New York City PoliceDepartment and State and Federal law enforcementagencies. Cases are litigated by the EnvironmentalControl Board and in the State and Federal courts.Violators are subject to civil penalties of $10,500 to$25,000 or criminal penalties which can incur sen-tences of two to ten years.

Waste Disposal

The Bureau of Solid Waste Management is com-prised of the Bureau of Solid WasteManagement and Engineering, the Bureau of

Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling and the Officeof Real Estate.

The Bureau of Solid Waste Management andEngineering (BSWME) performs diverse functions,including long-range solid waste management plan-ning, facilities development, permitting, maintainingthe regulatory compliance of Department facilities,and ensuring that the Department’s disposal-relatedmarine infrastructure is maintained and rehabilitated,

as needed. In 1999, the focus ofthe Bureau’s work continued to beon activities related to the closureof Fresh Kills Landfill, mandatedto occur by the end of 2001. FreshKills Landfill, located on StatenIsland, is the City’s only operatingsolid waste disposal facility. Sincethe May 1996 announcement byMayor Giuliani and GovernorPataki to cease accepting waste atFresh Kills by December 31, 2001,modification and implementationof existing plans proceed to assurethat Fresh Kills closes on time andin compliance with Federal andState regulations and continues tooperate safely through closure. Asthe Department ends its reliance

on Fresh Kills for the disposal of residential waste,many operations at Fresh Kills will cease. A few, suchas environmental monitoring, and the operation andmaintenance of environmental facilities and finalcover construction, will continue.

Solid Waste Management Planning and FacilitiesDevelopment is responsible for the development oflong-range waste management strategies for the wastegenerated in the City. BSWME also keeps abreast ofnew waste disposal technology and solid waste-relatedlegislation and conducts analyses of available disposalcapacity, transportation and infrastructure needs.

Solid Waste ManagementMartha K. Hirst — Deputy Commissioner

Fresh Kills Landfill Gas Control and Recovery: In1999 BSWME began the installation of a landfill gastransmission main. Under the terms of the 20-yearconcession that BSWME and the City’s LawDepartment negotiated with GSP Energy L.L.C. in1998, the City is receiving approximately $3.5 millionper year in revenues. The implementation of the con-cession’s expanded facilities in the next few years willbring about the elimination of landfill gas odors andthe recovery and sale of all of the landfill gas generatedat Fresh Kills.

Fresh Kills Composting Facility: InSpring 1998, BSWME completed thedesign and permitting of the Fresh KillsComposting Facility. Although officiallyopened in January 1999, the newly relo-cated and constructed facility was suffi-ciently complete to allow the receipt ofStaten Island’s Fall 1998 leaf and yardwaste and Christmas trees, as well asChristmas trees collected in Brooklynthat season.

Marine Infrastructure andDredging Unit: To remain operable, theDepartment’s seven marine transfer sta-tions (MTS’s,) barge staging areas, and the FreshKills Channel must maintain sufficient depth toenable barges to maneuver. Dredging needs arebased on surveys conducted by this Unit to deter-mine available water levels. Dredging includes theapplication of marine borer protection to woodenpiers, as necessary.

Permitting Unit: The Permitting Unit obtainsand maintains all necessary permits for Departmentfacilities. The Unit also provides support to theOffice of Real Estate in the preparation of ULURP(Uniform Land Use Review Process) applications.

Landfill Engineering Unit: The LandfillEngineering Unit is the arm of Sanitation responsible

Solid Waste Management

for achieving and maintaining regulatorycompliance at the Department’s waste disposalfacilities, Fresh Kills Landfill and the formerEdgemere Landfill. The Landfill EngineeringUnit is primarily responsible for the manage-ment, engineering and design of the closure ofFresh Kills Landfill.

Office of Real Estate: The Office of RealEstate (ORE) is responsible for identifying,acquiring and managing property for theDepartment.

The Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse andRecycling (BWPRR) runs the largest and mostambitious recycling program in the UnitedStates. The program provides curbside recy-cling collection services for an array of recycla-ble materials to all three million householdsand institutions in New York City. In addition,waste prevention is a key element in the

Department’s strategy to reduce the quantity of solidwaste the City must dispose of. BWPRR plans, imple-ments and evaluates recycling, composting and wasteprevention programs for both residential and com-mercial sectors and conducts extensive outreach andeducation in support of all of its programs.

Fall Leaf and Yard Waste Composting: Since1990, the Department has been collecting approxi-mately 3,000 tons of Autumn leaves from Staten Islandand composting them at the Fresh Kills Yard WasteCompost Facility. In November 1997, the Departmentlaunched a cooperative project with the Departmentof Parks and Recreation (DPR) to increase the City’srecycling rate and to restore and beautify 10,000 acresof parklands by expanding the Department’s residen-tial leaf and brush collection program to all of theCity’s leafy Districts. Since Fall 1997, the program hasexpanded to include 34 out of the City’s 59 Districts.

Christmas Tree Collection and Composting: TheDepartment collects Christmas trees and compoststhem at the same mix of Department and Park sitesutilized to compost the Fall yard and leaf waste col-lected each year.

Solid Waste Management

The mission of the Bureau of Administrationand Financial Management is to develop, mon-itor, report on, and control the Department’s

financial plan; provide and ensure adequate controlsover the use of financial and human resources; analyzeand recommend strategies to improve theDepartment’s financial position by reducing costs orraising revenues; use technology to provide moreaccurate and detailed information and improve cus-tomer service; and provide other necessary supportservices which assist the other Bureaus in fulfillingtheir missions.

Work Experience Program (WEP)

The Department of Sanitation has one of thelargest Work Experience Programs (WEP) in the City.As an essential part of the Mayor’s welfare-to-workstrategy, able-bodied recipients of public assistance arerequired to work for the City in exchange for theirsubsidies. The number of hours they work is deter-mined by the value of their monthly cash paymentsand food stamps. The WEP population assigned tothe Department of Sanitation averages between 2,000and 3,000 welfare recipients at any time. Up to 90%of the population clean streets and the remainder per-form custodial or clerical tasks.

The WEP Street Cleaning Program was a majorcontributing factor to the Department’s achievingrecord cleanliness ratings in Fiscal Year 1999. Eventhough the number of street cleaners declined signifi-cantly, the Department has become more efficient atdeploying them. Field supervisors are better able todetermine priority cleaning locations from day to dayand, after four years of experience with the WEPstreet-cleaning program, the logistics of attendance,equipment issuance, transportation and monitoringhave become much more routinized.

The Human Resources Administration evaluatesCity agencies each quarter on the management oftheir respective WEP programs. Agencies are evaluat-ed on such criteria as the structure of WEP assign-

ments, the quality of supervision and the adherence tocitywide policies. In 1999, Sanitation received thehighest ratings of any City agency and the highest rat-ings given in each category.

Planning and Budget

The Bureau of Planning and Budget includes thefunctions of Management Analysis and OperationsManagement. The Management Analysis functionincludes the preparation of the expense budget andfinancial plan, the monitoring of actual performanceagainst the budget and the preparation of theDepartment’s portion of the Mayor’s ManagementReport. In 1999, the unit had a major role in imple-menting the Phase 3 Export of residential waste fromManhattan and Staten Island to New Jersey. TheBureau also provided support for development of thedraft update to the Solid Waste Management Plan.

The primary responsibilities of the OperationsManagement unit are to monitor, evaluate and planfor improvement in the Department’s core collectionand cleaning functions. Significant projects during1999 include:

• Planning for the citywide expansion of weeklyrecycling. Local law provided for the expansion ofweekly recycling collection beginning in March1999 and continuing through full, citywide weeklycollection in April 2000.

• Analyzing the bids received for the export of resi-dential waste collected in Manhattan and StatenIsland. Operations Management maintains andimproves a transportation model, which is used tofind the assignment of Sanitation districts totransfer stations that provides the lowest total costto the City. In addition, the unit supervised sig-nificant portions of the environmental analysis byevaluating various truck routes to and from thebidding transfer stations. The Bureau’s work wasessential to the successful award of 3,200 tons perday, a 60% increase over the target of 2,000 tonsestablished for Phase 3.

AdministrationSteven Lawitts — Deputy Commissioner

Fiscal Services

The Bureau of Fiscal Services provides theDepartment’s essential financial management andcontrol functions. It prepares, administers and con-trols the annual expense and revenue budgets;processes payments for all purchases and contractservices; reviews and processes documents for allDepartment purchases; and provides billing and rev-enue collection for such revenue sources as privatecarters and professional fees.

In 1999, the management and staff of FiscalServices were heavily involved in the design, develop-ment, testing and implementation of FMS 2000, thecitywide financial management that is Year 2000 com-pliant.

Human Resources

The Bureau of Human Resources processes allpersonnel and payroll actions, including appoint-ments, promotions, terminations, and any changes totitle, salary or benefits. The Bureau maintains recordson all employees and is the liaison for citywide per-sonnel programs such as redeployment.

In 1999, the Department hired the first 405 newSanitation workers from a civil service list which wasestablished in July 1999 . This list opens up the posi-tion of sanitation worker to a new set of applicants forthe first time in nearly ten years. It also sets a higherstandard of qualifications for the position: candidatesmust now have a high school diploma and a commer-cial driver’s license before appointment.

Medical Division

A significant part of the Medical Division is therandom drug-and-alcohol testing program which cov-ers commercial-driver’s-license employees inSanitation and eight other City agencies. Since therandom-testing program began in 1995, there hasbeen a significant decline in the percentage of employ-ees who test positive. In 1995, 5.2% of the employeestested were positive for either drugs or alcohol. Thepositive rate dropped to 3.4% in 1996, to 2.4% in 1997and further declined to 2.1% in 1998. The 1999 rate, aslightly higher 2.2%, was consistent with nationalaverages for truck drivers. In addition, the Medicaldivision administered pre-employment screenings.

Management Information Services

The Management Information Services Bureau man-ages and supports the mainframe and personal com-puting resources and needs of the Department, forboth software and hardware. During 1999, the pri-mary focus of MIS was to achieve Year 2000 compli-ance for the Agency’s critical systems. All systems wereupgraded on-time, by July 1999, and the rollover toJanuary 1 was successful.

In addition, MIS enabled the connection of thefour Export Phase 3 vendor sites in New Jersey to theDepartment’s productivity systems. This has allowedthe Department to monitor productivity and reconcilethe vendors’ invoices in a timely and accurate way.The Bureau also implemented changes to theSanitation Action Center to enable the Department tomake appointments for the removal of refrigerant gasfrom appliances prior to collecting the appliances forrecycling.

Administration

The Bureau of Legal Affairs is the Department’sin-house arm in all legal matters, providingcounsel and assistance to the agency. The

Bureau also serves as the Department’s liaison withthe New York City Council and State Legislature, man-ages DOS’s City Environmental Quality Reviewprocesses, coordinates responses to Freedom ofInformation Law requests for documents, and pro-vides litigation support to the City’s Law Departmentin connection with lawsuits involving the Department.The Bureau serves as advisor on the legal aspects ofenvironmental compliance efforts, and also providescounsel on employment and personnel matters.

Contracts, Bid Solicitations, Requests forProposals, and Procurement

Legal Affairs works with the other Bureaus in theDepartment - developing and drafting contracts, bidsolicitations, and requests for proposals (RFP) in orderto obtain the myriad services the Department needs,most notably waste export. This year the Agency ChiefContracting Office (ACCO) became part of LegalAffairs. The ACCO is responsible for the execution ofthe Commissioner’s Charter-based authority withrespect to procurement.

Environmental Enforcement

The Bureau works closely with the Department’senvironmental enforcement units, providing legaladvice and interpretation of the Department’s statutesand rules, as well as representing those units inadministrative enforcement proceedings at theEnvironmental Control Board (ECB). The Bureaufocuses its enforcement efforts on waste transfer sta-tions because of their importance to waste export.

Litigation Support and Liaison

Serving as the Department’s liaison with the NewYork City Law Department, Legal provides litigationsupport in connection with all lawsuits in which theDepartment is a party. These cases range from simpleworkers compensation claims to complex environ-mental actions.

Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs

The Intergovernmental Unit serves as theDepartment’s liaison with legislators and legislatures,closely monitoring federal, state, and local legislativesessions and legislation that might affect DOS opera-tions. The Department’s liaison with the City Councilcoordinates the Department’s responses to Councilinquiries and drafts testimony for Council hearings.The Intergovernmental Unit also drafts proposed Stateand local legislation and Department rules.

Employment and Disciplinary Matters

The Office of Employment and DisciplinaryMatters (OEDM), commonly referred to as theAdvocate’s Office, provides legal counsel on employ-ment and personnel matters. It acts as the liaison withthe New York City Law Department regarding all liti-gation involving employment and personnel issues.

.

Legal AffairsLeslie Allan — Deputy Commissioner

The Department of Sanitation adheres to a strictpolicy of zero tolerance for any form ofemployment discrimination and to equality of

opportunity for all employees and applicants foremployment. The EEO office reports directly to theCommissioner, and is the branch of the Departmentwhose mission is to ensure that all employees areaware of their rights and obligations under this policy.EEO promotes and encourages a work environmentthat appreciates differences among employees.

The EEO office is responsible for investigatingcomplaints of discrimination, presenting a compre-hensive report to the Commissioner and making a rec-ommendation as to what action should be taken. Theoffice responds to all inquiries from employees whobelieve they may have been discriminated against. TheEEO office also responds to Federal, State and Cityhuman rights agencies, whose employees or applicantsfor employment are also entitled to file a complaint.

Equal Employment OpportunityFernando Camacho — Director

The Office of Public Affairs is the Department’sambassador and voice, representing theDepartment of Sanitation both internally and

to outside audiences. Working as the gatekeeper forthe flow of information, Public Affairs is a multifac-eted division that handles general press issues andworks with the media (print, television, film andradio) in promoting Department of Sanitationachievements and happenings. Public Affairs keepssenior management informed of any and all occur-rences which involve the Department. The officeoversees the Department’s video and photo units, uti-lized to create educational films and recordDepartmental events. A daily newspaper clippingdigest is maintained by Public Affairs and distributedAgency-wide. Public Affairs assists with creative serv-ices for Sanitation, through speech writing, produc-tion of Departmental publications and brochures, andtruck poster creation. Occasionally, the office inter-faces and works with its counterparts in other Cityagencies on combined public information events.Tours of the Fresh Kills landfill are arranged throughPublic Affairs, and occasionally the office serves as aliaison to foreign governments and officials who areinterested in how the Department is run and operated.Furthermore, the office plans and develops employeeevents, such as Agency award ceremonies.

Public AffairsPeter C. Fenty — Deputy Commissioner

Credits

Editor: Paula Young, Assistant Commissioner, DSNY Public Affairs

Project Coordinator: Gregory Antonsen, DSNY Chief of Staff

Design/Layout: John Yue, DCAS CityGraphics

Photography: Michael Castellano, Alan Harris

DSNYDSNY

A N N U A L R E P O R T 1 9 9 9

City of New YorkDepartment of Sanitation

Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mayor

Kevin P. Farrell, Commissioner