Metro

Manhattan garbage days cut as sanitation workers head to Sandy-stricken boroughs

Garbage pick-ups in neighborhoods not affected by Hurricane Sandy are going to be reduced so sanitation crews can be re-directed to those areas ravaged by the super-storm, Mayor Bloomberg announced today.

Collections of three times a week may be cut to twice weekly, while those homeowners on a two-a-week schedule may have to save their refuse for a single pick-up per week.

Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty told The Post that Manhattan will get at least two pick-ups a week.

“There may be some places that get three,” he said. “We’ll see how we get through the week.”

The mayor and Doherty visited the Edgemere Queens East 14 Garage in the Rockaways — parts of which have been damaged by flood waters — to deliver a pep talk to sanit workers preparing for their next 12-hour shift.

“I don’t think you recognize the esteem people hold you,” the mayor told the more than 100 workers assembled for the morning tour.

Street sweeping and recycling have been put on hold since the storm smacked the city last week.

Doherty said the two major recycling plants where the city sends glass, metals and other materials are both on the waterfront and are in the middle of recovery efforts.

“I’m hoping by the end of the week, we can see some daylight on that,” he said.

The Sanitation Department has hauled away 55,000 tons of debris so far — and tons more are expected to be taken to staging areas for at least another 10 days. The removal supply line is too clogged to handle it now.

Many sanitation workers live in the Rockaways and their homes were among those damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Joseph Ormsby, 41, a sanit worker for more than seven years, said he’s living without heat or electricity, using the burner light on his stove for warmth.

He’s still coming to work each day, winning the gratitude of storm-battered residents.

“When you go out there and you have people say `Thank you,’ and they’re offering you food, there’s nothing better than that,” he concluded.