Councilmen David Greenfield and Jimmy Van Bramer were joined by local nonprofit leaders at the announcement including: Amy Hau, Director of Administration and External Affairs for the Noguchi Museum, Tomoko Kawamoto, Public Information Manager for the Museum of the Moving Image, John Hatfield, Executive Director of the Socrates Sculpture Park, Peter Katz, Chief Operating Officer for MoMA PS 1, Valerie Green of Dance Entropy, Adrian Bordoni, Executive Director of Woodside on the Move, Margaret Honey, President and CEO of the New York Hall of Science and President of New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group, Dan Wempa, Vice President of External Affairs for the New York Hall of Science, Bishop Mitchell Taylor, President and Founder of the East River Development Alliance, Rosemary De Luca, Assistant Director at Wildlife Conservation Society, Sheila Lewandowski, Founder and Executive Director of the Chocolate Factory and Richard Mazda, Artistic Director of the Secret Theatre. Photo courtesy of Councilman Van Bramer’s office.
Legislators are pushing back against a proposed plan that would require nonprofit organizations to start paying the city for trash pickup.
Last year, the Department of Sanitation announced it would start charging a fee to collect trash at buildings that have a tax-exempt status for nonprofit use.
However, Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield and now Queens Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Maspeth, Woodside) are objecting and have introduced legislation to counter the plan.
The two say the policy would put an undue $17 million burden on nonprofits citywide.
Colleges, churches, museums, social service groups, cultural institutions, athletic programs and similar institutions would all be affected.
“This legislation, along with the amendments I have proposed, will give many of the local cultural organizations and nonprofit groups the ability to financially stay afloat at a time when so many have already made cuts to their programming,” said Van Bramer, Chair of the New York City Council’s Cultural Affairs Committee. “Many of these nonprofit groups attract millions of visitors each year, to ask them to spend millions of dollars on trash collection would cause a extreme economic hardship on those organizations at a time when charitable giving is at its lowest in four decades.”
Greenfield originally introduced the legislation and Van Bramer helped to amend the language.
“We need to do everything we can to support our non-profit organizations and cultural groups, which work tirelessly to provide vital social services for countless individuals and families and help make New York City the amazing place it is,” said Greenfield.
He and Van Bramer were joined by about a dozen nonprofit leaders on April 17 to decry the push to start charging nonprofits.
“This short-sighted decision will have a major impact on these groups at a time they can least afford it, and could easily end up costing the city in the long run when we have to replace the services we lose as a result,” Greenfield said. “These groups add to the fabric of this city and should not be taken for granted, and my bill ensures the city doesn’t turn to them for revenue when it comes to a basic municipal service.”
The legislation has 28 backers in addition to Greenfield and Van Bramer.
