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> Why are they using garbage trucks to plow snow? You are sort of answering your own question here. > snowplows a few days per year that you need them NYC ha

> Why are they using garbage trucks to plow snow? You are sort of answering your own question here. > snowplows a few days per year that you need them NYC has 6,300 miles miles of streets. Maintaining an entirely separate fleet of plow vehicles large enough to clear the streets quickly would have its own additional costs.

yepguy 4y ago
Why do they even have their own fleet of garbage trucks, though? I'm pretty sure the garbage trucks where I live are all privately owned.
- Reubachi 4y ago
  Because NYC is entirely different than where you live, most likely. City gov subsidizes trash pick up instead of allowing private companies to bid, because any private company would lose money. And if no city subsidized trash pick up, New York will be New Delhi.
  - Loughla 4y ago
    I don't understand how NYC couldn't make money for a private trash company. The trash company I use makes money, and our population density isn't anywhere near what it is in NYC. I have to imagine the largest cost is fuel, and it stands to reason that it takes much more fuel to get all of the trash where I live. I don't understand what you're saying, I guess. I don't understand how a city being large can just automatically lead to a loss for trash companies.
    - alephnerd 4y ago
      NYC already has private trash pickup and it's a bit of a S#1Tshow - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/nyregion/nyc-garbage.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/nyregion/nyc-garbage.html
    - mechanical_bear 4y ago
      There are complicating factors in NYC, as well as the fact that the average resident doesn’t pay what it actually costs for trash pickup, so moving to a private model would cost significantly more for each household. (Obviously TINSTAAFL, and this cost is just hidden in other ways. Eg taxes)
- wolverine876 4y ago
  Why default to privately owned? Public services can be cheaper, more reliable, and you have more control than if you pay someone else to maximize their profit. NYC government has tons of experience and expertise in managing something like this.
  - factsarelolz 4y ago
    NYC also has a ton of fraud perpetrated by gov employees. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/seventeen-new-york-city-and-state-public-employees-charged-fraudulently-obtaining https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/seventeen-new-york-city... https://www.reuters.com/legal/bribery-fraud-charges-are-dismissed-against-ex-new-york-lieutenant-governor-2022-12-05/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/bribery-fraud-charges-are-dism...
    - wolverine876 4y ago
      NYC government is huge; is that really a "ton"? Private business also has fraud.
      - factsarelolz 4y ago
        Government Officials defrauding their constituents is another level higher than private business fraud. Just my opinion though YOMV.
        wolverine876 4y ago
        What do you base that on?
  - edgyquant 4y ago
    >Public services can be cheaper No they can be subsidized with tax money. That doesn’t mean cheaper
    - ectopod 4y ago
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > Why do they even have their own fleet of garbage trucks, though? We have both: “New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY)…serves residential buildings, government agencies, and many nonprofit facilities. The private system is regulated by the City’s Business Integrity Commission (BIC) and consists of more than 250 waste hauling firms licensed to remove non-construction and non-industrial waste. The private haulers serve businesses ranging from small pizza parlors to large office buildings” [1]. The public system guarantees minimum service to the population. [1] https://cbcny.org/research/12-things-new-yorkers-should-know-about-their-garbage https://cbcny.org/research/12-things-new-yorkers-should-know...
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  Waste hauling in NYC used to be run by the mob. It still may be to some extent, but that history has yet to be un-f*cked. They don't even use dumpsters, they just pile bags of trash on the sidewalk. And then wonder why they have a huge rat problem.
  - josephorjoe 4y ago
    Most of NYC does not have the physical space for dumpsters or the roadway access for dumpster lifting garbage trucks. There are some large buildings where it would be practical, but much of the residential housing consists of buildings with <10 apartments and no alleyways (let alone driveways).
  - Ichthypresbyter 4y ago
    The mob ran waste hauling for businesses who did (and still do) have to contract with private companies to take away their waste- the big trial that is supposed to have got rid of most of the mob control of this business was in the mid-90s. Residential trash in NYC is hauled away by city employees at the Department of Sanitation, and has been since the late 19th century. Both, though, expect trash (whether from a business or from an apartment building) to be simply piled up in bags on the sidewalk.
- TSiege 4y ago
  First of all we have both. Second of all we are a democracy, and I have never once in my entire life living here heard for anyone call for privatizing the Department of Sanitation. If anything I've heard for calls to take over private sanitation because it way more dangerous to pedestrians and workers

yepguy 4y ago

Why do they even have their own fleet of garbage trucks, though? I'm pretty sure the garbage trucks where I live are all privately owned.

Reubachi 4y ago
Because NYC is entirely different than where you live, most likely. City gov subsidizes trash pick up instead of allowing private companies to bid, because any private company would lose money. And if no city subsidized trash pick up, New York will be New Delhi.
- Loughla 4y ago
  I don't understand how NYC couldn't make money for a private trash company. The trash company I use makes money, and our population density isn't anywhere near what it is in NYC. I have to imagine the largest cost is fuel, and it stands to reason that it takes much more fuel to get all of the trash where I live. I don't understand what you're saying, I guess. I don't understand how a city being large can just automatically lead to a loss for trash companies.
  - alephnerd 4y ago
    NYC already has private trash pickup and it's a bit of a S#1Tshow - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/nyregion/nyc-garbage.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/nyregion/nyc-garbage.html
  - mechanical_bear 4y ago
    There are complicating factors in NYC, as well as the fact that the average resident doesn’t pay what it actually costs for trash pickup, so moving to a private model would cost significantly more for each household. (Obviously TINSTAAFL, and this cost is just hidden in other ways. Eg taxes)
wolverine876 4y ago
Why default to privately owned? Public services can be cheaper, more reliable, and you have more control than if you pay someone else to maximize their profit. NYC government has tons of experience and expertise in managing something like this.
- factsarelolz 4y ago
  NYC also has a ton of fraud perpetrated by gov employees. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/seventeen-new-york-city-and-state-public-employees-charged-fraudulently-obtaining https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/seventeen-new-york-city... https://www.reuters.com/legal/bribery-fraud-charges-are-dismissed-against-ex-new-york-lieutenant-governor-2022-12-05/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/bribery-fraud-charges-are-dism...
  - wolverine876 4y ago
    NYC government is huge; is that really a "ton"? Private business also has fraud.
    - factsarelolz 4y ago
      Government Officials defrauding their constituents is another level higher than private business fraud. Just my opinion though YOMV.
      - wolverine876 4y ago
        What do you base that on?
- edgyquant 4y ago
  >Public services can be cheaper No they can be subsidized with tax money. That doesn’t mean cheaper
  - ectopod 4y ago
JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> Why do they even have their own fleet of garbage trucks, though? We have both: “New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY)…serves residential buildings, government agencies, and many nonprofit facilities. The private system is regulated by the City’s Business Integrity Commission (BIC) and consists of more than 250 waste hauling firms licensed to remove non-construction and non-industrial waste. The private haulers serve businesses ranging from small pizza parlors to large office buildings” [1]. The public system guarantees minimum service to the population. [1] https://cbcny.org/research/12-things-new-yorkers-should-know-about-their-garbage https://cbcny.org/research/12-things-new-yorkers-should-know...
SoftTalker 4y ago
Waste hauling in NYC used to be run by the mob. It still may be to some extent, but that history has yet to be un-f*cked. They don't even use dumpsters, they just pile bags of trash on the sidewalk. And then wonder why they have a huge rat problem.
- josephorjoe 4y ago
  Most of NYC does not have the physical space for dumpsters or the roadway access for dumpster lifting garbage trucks. There are some large buildings where it would be practical, but much of the residential housing consists of buildings with <10 apartments and no alleyways (let alone driveways).
- Ichthypresbyter 4y ago
  The mob ran waste hauling for businesses who did (and still do) have to contract with private companies to take away their waste- the big trial that is supposed to have got rid of most of the mob control of this business was in the mid-90s. Residential trash in NYC is hauled away by city employees at the Department of Sanitation, and has been since the late 19th century. Both, though, expect trash (whether from a business or from an apartment building) to be simply piled up in bags on the sidewalk.
TSiege 4y ago
First of all we have both. Second of all we are a democracy, and I have never once in my entire life living here heard for anyone call for privatizing the Department of Sanitation. If anything I've heard for calls to take over private sanitation because it way more dangerous to pedestrians and workers