Cleanliness at NYC parks and public spaces hit by Adams’ budget cuts: report

Title: Mayor Adams’ Budget Cuts Leave NYC Parks and Streets Dirtier, Report Shows

NYC’s streets and parks are showing signs of decline, with critical cleanliness initiatives scaled back due to budget cuts, according to a recent city management report. Mayor Eric Adams, who has prioritized public cleanliness, has since proposed restoring some of the reductions.

The preliminary management report, released last Thursday, offered a snapshot of city agencies’ performance between July and October 2024. It revealed a decline in cleanliness across several fronts, with the Sanitation Department bearing the brunt of Adams’ budget cuts.

The Sanitation Department, tasked with keeping the city’s public spaces clean, saw a significant drop in cleanings. Between July and October 2024, the department scrubbed just 26 vacant lots and 3,995 targeted neighborhood taskforce locations, compared to 335 vacant lots and 6,771 taskforce locations in the same period last year. The report attributed this decline to "prior budget cuts, despite partial restoration."

Parks Department’s cleanliness ratings also slipped. In the latest reporting window, 92% of city parks were categorized as ‘acceptable for cleanliness,’ down from 94% the previous year. Similarly, the ‘acceptable for overall condition’ rank dropped to 85% from 88%. Parks officials blamed "recent city budget reductions" for the decrease, including the loss of ‘second shift’ cleaning staff at 100 heavily used locations.

Despite these challenges, Adams announced in his State of the City address plans to restore $12.4 million for second shift cleanings at high-use parks. However, Parks Department still faces a $7.6 million budget hole.

While some cleanliness indicators showed improvement—like an increase in cleaned catch basins and closed graffiti removal requests—the decline in vacant lot cleanings raised concerns among local leaders.

"Uncleaned, vacant lots present safety concerns for local residents," said Councilwoman Sandy Nurse. "They become places for encampments and drug use." Rafael Punnett-Moure, the district manager of Community Board 6 in the Bronx, echoed these concerns, noting delayed responses to parks cleaning requests.

Adams acknowledged the challenges in his statement: "Our administration is focused on making New York City the best place to raise a family. Whether it’s driving down crime, connecting more people to SNAP and low-cost child care, winning the war on rats, or building housing at record levels, we are delivering on that mission and making our city safer and more affordable for working-class New Yorkers."