Federal Monitor Approves NYCHA’S Pest and Waste Management Action Plan
The Federal Monitor approved NYCHA’s initial Pest and Waste Management Action Plan for improving the Authority’s benchmarks for waste and pest control across NYCHA’s 316 developments. The approval of the plan follows several improvements the Authority has made over the past two years, from the creation of a dedicated Waste Management department that prioritizes prevention and intervention to information technology enhancements and staff training on the Integrated Pest Management model.
“NYCHA’s Pest and Waste Management Action Plan is the culmination of more than 18 months of hard work, and we appreciate the Monitor and his team for approving it,” said NYCHA Chair & CEO Greg Russ. “The waste management upgrades and standardized procedures outlined in this Plan will help improve our ability to address this important area of need for our residents.”
Last year, NYCHA restructured the Authority by creating a Waste Management department that reports directly to the General Manager and incorporating the Pest Control division within that unit – to better coordinate targeted responses to pest and waste incidents. This organizational change followed the top-to-bottom incorporation of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) model by the Authority. Adopting Integrated Pest Management helps ensure NYCHA is addressing the root causes of pest infestations in an entire development, through routine appointments, corrective maintenance, and resident education.
NYCHA has been working over the past two years to train staff in industry best practices outlined in the IPM model; invest in additional staffing and vendor resources for addressing waste issues at the property level; and develop a prioritization matrix – which uses data analytics to respond quickly to resident complaints.
This year, NYCHA will also introduce a slate of information technology enhancements that will further incorporate IPM practices in flagging and addressing waste and pest management needs.
The Action Plan also commits NYCHA to invest in capital upgrades for its outdated pest and waste management infrastructure. These efforts include installing rat slabs in developments as part of the City’s Neighborhood Rat Reduction Initiative, enlarging ground-floor doors for trash chutes, and investing hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade outdated waste infrastructure and compactors across NYCHA’s portfolio.
Under the NYCHA 2.0 Waste Management Plan, projects have been completed or are underway at 64 developments across the Authority, funded in part by $55 million in capital funds. Nearly 200 developments will also be impacted by a $544 million City Agreement Action Plan that will allocate funds toward future projects such as installing cardboard balers and recycling infrastructure to improve recycling at developments, re-designing waste yards, and installing bulk crushers that increase the Authority’s capacity to deal with larger trash items.
Photo caption: A pre-COVID-19 photo of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) extermination appointment at a NYCHA development.