Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management meeting
February 27, 2026, 1:00 PM
Jointly with the Committee on Disabilities and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The committee, meeting jointly with the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Disabilities, held an oversight hearing on pedestrian and transit accessibility during winter weather events.
What was discussed
- Three co-chairs open the first-ever Disabilities Committee hearing on winter accessibility Council Member Shahana Hanif gaveled in the newly created Committee on Disabilities' first-ever hearing, jointly with Sanitation Chair Justin Sanchez and Transportation Chair and Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, on pedestrian and transit accessibility during the January and February 2026 snowstorms.
- Disabled New Yorkers describe being stranded for weeks after the storms An opening panel of directly affected New Yorkers testified that snow and ice left them trapped at home. Jean Ryan of Disabled in Action said she was once stuck for six weeks when a curb cut went unshoveled and that 'melting should not be the plan'; Jonathan Hanon said DSNY wrongly told him via
- Sanitation details its response to Winter Storms Fern and Hernando Acting Commissioner Javier Lojan testified that DSNY prepares year-round with over 2,200 plow-ready vehicles, 700 salt spreaders, 7,000 trained workers, and its Blade Runner 2.0 tracking system, and walked through the two storms. After Winter Storm Fern (Jan. 25) he said the city cleared a record
- Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities on its coordinating role Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel Emily Sweet of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities testified that MOPD works across agencies to ensure accessibility is integrated into winter planning and response, functioning as a coordination and escalation point rather than operating plows.
- What does 'cleared' mean, who is accountable, and what is MOPD's actual role? Acting Commissioner Lojan told Chair Hanif that 'cleared' means a four-foot path, that adjacent property owners are responsible for curb ramps and sidewalks with DSNY handling the street, and that DSNY does not track repeat bad-actor owners beyond 3-1-1 but is open to doing more. He said DSNY
- How does DOT oversee bus-shelter snow clearing by its contractor JCDecaux? Commissioner Mike Flynn and First Deputy Commissioner Margaret Forgione told Majority Leader Abreu that DOT's contractor JCDecaux is required by contract to clear the roughly 3,400 bus shelters within four hours—infeasible in major storms, so DOT plans an attack strategy with them—and that shelters
- Who is responsible for curb ramps, what did the response cost, and how are shovelers paid? Acting Commissioner Lojan told Sanitation Chair Justin Sanchez that curb ramps are part of the sidewalk and thus the adjacent property owner's responsibility, that total storm costs are still being reconciled with vendors and salt replenishment, and that roughly 3,000 bus stops are sheltered
- Council members press on crosswalks, the property-owner model, and scaling paid shovelers Several members questioned DSNY and DOT while thanking borough Sanitation staff. Council Members Inna Vernikov, Gale Brewer, and Kayla Santosuosso pushed on crosswalk clearing and the confusion over what property owners versus the city must clear; Council Member Susan Zhuang praised responsive local
- Disability advocates fault the property-owner model and the hearing's timing A panel of disability advocates urged the city to take over sidewalk clearing. Mike Schweinsburg of the 504 Democratic Club asked why the city has special machines for bike lanes but nothing dedicated to pedestrian ramps, noting 4,500 summonses against roughly 300,000 ramps. Arthur Schwartz, reading
- Business and legal advocates on erased crosswalks and the city's ADA duty Layla Passman of the Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District testified that uncleared mid-block crosswalks were effectively 'erased,' pushing pedestrians into traffic on a Vision Zero corridor. Jessica Scholes of Disability Rights New York argued that under Title II of the ADA and the city
- Remote witnesses call for city-run clearing, a 'snow czar,' and better data Remote members of the public pressed for systemic change. Elizabeth Denys, recovering from surgery, said she fell repeatedly and urged the city to own clearing of sidewalks, bus stops, and crossings; Kathleen Collins, a congenital quadruple amputee, called for a single 'snow and ice tsar,' an
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1246 Oversight - Pedestrian and Transit Accessibility During Winter Weather Events. Hearing Held by Committee