UPPER EAST SIDE — Dozens of larger trash cans are coming to the neighborhood beginning this week, in an effort to keep refuse off the sidewalks, according to city officials.
The new cans will be placed at intersections on First, Second, Third and Lexington avenues, from East 70th to East 98th street, where there have been numerous complaints of trash overflow, according to City Councilman Ben Kallos, who funded the cans with $20,710 from his budget.
The cans are wider in circumference than the normal trash receptacles and have a domed top with a smaller hole on the top. Some of them will replace existing wire bins that are smaller, and the others will be added to intersections that didn't have bins before.
Currently there are about a dozen open complaints about dirty sidewalks within the area, according to city records.
"We want to try and make sure the public can do right thing and keep litter in its place," said Kathryn Garcia, the commissioner of the Sanitation Department. "We need everyone to keep New York City clean."
The new cans are another step in a longtime effort to to clean up the Upper East Side, which has been plagued with garbage pileups, especially around the East 86th Street subway station, which is home to a number of box stores like H&M and Best Buy, as well as many restaurants.
The Department of Sanitation agreed in April to increase trash pickup at East 86th Street to twice a day after Kallos drew attention to the flood of complaints from residents.
Residents are currently working to form a Business Improvement District in the area as well.
