Sabbath observant Jews in New York are furious with the city's sanitation department, which changed the rules regarding garbage collection on Fridays. They say they are being fined for their religious practices.
In some ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, such as Crown Heights, trash has to be brought to the curb on Friday for Saturday pickup, sometimes after the start of the Sabbath. “The city’s new regulations regarding garbage collection now directly infringe on our religious liberties and seem to overturn nearly 100 years of precedent,” a neighborhood resident told the New York Post.
He noted that for about half the year, the Sabbath starts before 6 p.m, but the new city rules don’t allow residents to bring trash to the curb until later, after the start of the Sabbath, when observant Jews are supposed to refrain from activities viewed as work. And if the trash is taken out to the street before the mandated hours, the owner of the trash bin could receive a fine.
“I even tried explaining this to a New York Sanitation Department worker who was issuing tickets right before Shabbos on our block recently,” he said. “Unfortunately, he simply said that while he was sympathetic to our problem, he was following orders and couldn’t make exceptions.
“It feels as though, in NYC 2024, the concerns of the Jewish community no longer count,” he lamented.
2 View gallery
The sanitation department will fine city residents who put their garbage out too early
(Photo: AFP)
The city of New York now requires that garbage bins be put out the evening before pickup — after 6 p.m. if the receptacle has a secured lid, or between 8 p.m. and midnight for trash bags.
The times have changed in an effort to reduce the amount of time rats have access to food scraps, and to prevent garbage bags from standing too long on the street. Fines for taking them out too early range from $50 to $300.
“I was surprised because in all my years living here in Crown Heights the DOS [Department of Sanitation] has been very considerate to our needs as religious Jews,” said Rabbi Motty Lipskier, a Crown Heights resident who recently received a fine.
“I appreciate all those who are working on resolving this issue and I trust that the DOS will be understanding,” he concluded.
Pro-Palestine protestors at New York subway
( מתוך X )
