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THURSDAY, MAR. 27, 2025

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Dear New Yorkers,

Since October, New York City law has required residents to separate food waste and yard trimmings from the trash. But the Department of Sanitation is about to get more serious about that rule. Starting April 1, DSNY will begin issuing fines of up to $300 to property owners who don’t comply.

Composting saves the city money, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and even fights rats.

If you aren’t already tossing your organic scraps and trash into different bins, this is a great time to start before your building might get slapped with a ticket.

New Yorkers have a lot of room to improve when it comes to composting: since DSNY rolled out curbside composting in October, residents continue to throw away over 95% of what could be composted, according to a recent analysis.

“The individual actions of many, many people together make a huge impact, and so the more people who can get on board, the better,” said Sam Bews, environmental nonprofit GrowNYC’s education manager.

To help New Yorkers compost better, we asked THE CITY’s readers for their questions about the system to create this guide with input from waste experts.

Read more here to learn how to compost, and what happens to the material after you've put it out on the curb.

Weather ☀️

Sunny, highs in the low 50s.

MTA 🚇

In The Bronx, the Manhattan-bound 2 and 5 trains run express from East 180 Street to 3 Ave - 149 Street from 10:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Mar. 27.

By the way…

Each month, the Parks Department leads a tour of Hart Island: the country’s largest public cemetery and the resting place of over a million New Yorkers. The lottery for the April tour opens today — sign up here.

Our Other Top Stories

Cash advance apps like Dave and EarnIn have charged New York state consumers more than $500 million in hidden fees and “tips” since 2019, a new report estimates — allowing the loan platforms to thrive despite New York’s strict limits on consumer interest rates. The report cites the company’s use of “deceptive” processing and expedition fees — and even prompts users to tip the lenders. MTA executives are pushing back against the Trump administration’s attack on the subway system with a “fact-based approach.” During their monthly board meeting Wednesday transit officials highlighted that the 2024 crime levels were at their lowest in 15 years, even while acknowledging that assaults are up from pre-Covid levels — almost a third of which were attacks against police officers assigned to catch fare-beaters.  Security guards at a firm that has tens of millions of dollars in government contracts routinely faked timesheets to claim hours when they weren’t on the job, a new report by the city Department of Investigation alleges. The guards were supposed to be on the job at NYCHA developments but “frequently abandoned their posts or failed to show up for work,” covering their tracks by falsifying handwritten timesheets.

Reporter’s Notebook

Council Takes Aim at Ugly Sidewalk Scaffold Sheds

New York City’s streets may be brighter in the future thanks to a package of bills targeting omnipresent sidewalk sheds put up during construction and renovation projects.

The five bills passed Wednesday by the City Council would, among other things, reduce the time a sidewalk shed is permitted to be up for facade repair from a year to three months. There would also be new penalties for building owners who keep sheds up too long.

Another bill lengthens the time between facade inspections — which necessitate scaffolding — from a five-year to an eight-year cycle for new buildings, and from six- to 12-years for existing ones.

Lighting must also improve on the shed, and there will be a study to look at the aesthetics. They’re also allowing new colors besides the usual hunter green — including gray, white, or any that matches the building.

After the passage, Mayor Eric Adams praised the Council legislation as in line with his push to “Get Sheds Down.”

— Katie Honan

Things To Do

Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.

Thursday, Mar. 27: Come to a book talk with Elie Mystal, the author of Bad Law — a takedown of what he considers 10 of the most awful laws in effect today — in conversation with FAQ NYC’s Christina Greer. Center for Brooklyn History, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 27: Hear a talk on the women of colonial New York and learn about women’s rights in Munsee, Iroquois, African, Dutch and English culture at the time. $5 in person, but free virtually. Van Cortlandt House museum, 6 p.m. Thursday. Mar. 27: Attend the opening reception of an exhibit showcasing The New Yorker’s covers depicting city parks over the last hundred years. Arsenal in Central Park, 6 p.m.

THE KICKER: Play ball! It’s baseball’s Opening Day! Yankee fans can celebrate with one of their new tiramisu helmets.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,

THE CITY

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