Building supers have lives, just like anyone else. And since the implementation of the new trash set-out time in the city’s ongoing fight against rats, some supers have been miserable. Starting April 1, trash must now be brought to the curb at 8 p.m., instead of 4 p.m. This change has affected Dominick Romeo, the live-in super of a 60-unit condominium in Chelsea. Three days a week, he extends his workday for trash duty, sometimes not finishing until around 9:30 pm on recycling nights. Supers in smaller buildings used to start trash duty early, finishing around 7 p.m. However, due to the increasing enforcement by the Sanitation Department, these supers are now ending their workday around 11 p.m. or taking a break and returning later, not finishing until after midnight. “It’s always been an extensive job, but now it’s absolutely exhausting,” Romeo says.
Romeo is taking action by organizing a grassroots movement to push for a rollback of the trash set-out time. A rally is planned for noon on Monday, Oct. 9, at City Hall Park, with more details available on NYC Building Supers’ website. Romeo is urging supers, porters, and anyone who supports them to participate. He also plans to stage a protest by having supers set out trash at 4 p.m. until Nov. 7, the day of the City Council elections. This protest aims to “send rats packing!” as promoted by the Department of Sanitation earlier this year when they moved the trash set-out time from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
One live-in super of a 25-unit rental building in Midtown, who chooses to remain anonymous, describes the new trash schedule as poorly thought out. He explains that big buildings have staff on shift work, allowing for seamless transitions as one person leaves and another arrives. But for him, as a one-man operation, it poses a challenge. He has daytime working hours and is on call for emergencies. “I used to be able to handle it, but now, three times a week during dinner time, I have to put out trash and get dirty again,” he says. “After taking out the trash, I need to take a shower.” Additionally, he points out the financial burden of not being able to cook dinner those three nights a week and having to order takeout instead. “It’s really messing me up financially,” he adds. Another super, also anonymous, manages two small condo buildings in Greenwich Village while living an hour away in Queens. On trash nights, instead of going home and returning, he stays to bring bags of trash up two flights of stairs. “The new schedule has completely disrupted our lives,” he says. “My girlfriend is upset, and we can forget about having dinner together. It feels like we’ve gone back to the 1800s where workers have no rights and the city doesn’t care about people in these jobs.”
Romeo explains that work scheduling is a bigger issue than most people realize, leading to other complications. He observes that building managers often stay hands-off, and co-op and condo boards are hesitant to pay overtime or hire part-time help. He has heard suggestions for supers to start their day later, but this poses a problem as vendors like plumbers and electricians often come in early morning. Supers are also reluctant to voice their concerns out of fear for their job security and living arrangements. According to a Department of Sanitation spokesman, moving the trash set-out time later was necessary as the previous 4 p.m. hour was the earliest in any major city worldwide. Rats would seize this opportunity during rush hour, making it unacceptable and unsanitary to leave 44 million pounds of trash on the streets all day.
However, rat sightings are still higher than a few years ago, and supers attribute this to the city’s budget cuts for sanitation services and the increase in outdoor dining sheds. Romeo believes that it’s not supers setting out trash at 4 p.m. that caused the rat population to swell but rather bad management and lack of proper services by the city. He argues that city officials don’t want to see trash on the streets when they’re on their way home. Although trash can be set out at 6 p.m. if it’s in a sealed container, very few buildings have the space to store these containers. Containerization also adds more work for supers as they have to retrieve them in the morning and clean them when they get dirty. Theft is also a concern, and these containers are quite expensive, costing $170 each for the type that Romeo prefers.
City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who sits on the Sanitation Committee, acknowledges the legitimate concerns of supers. He believes that a reasonable compromise can be reached to maintain clean sidewalks while still allowing superintendents to have a good quality of life. Romeo is also offering solutions, including a trash set-out time of 5 p.m. He is also suggesting that the city expedite its food scraps and yard waste program, which includes curbside composting, and allow food-free cardboard to be put out unbagged. Romeo concludes by stating that the city should have come up with a plan before disrupting the lives of supers.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
