They want to make New York the city that always sweeps.
While the Sanitation Department claims that over 95 percent of the city’s streets are “acceptably clean,” city officials are planning additional cleanups in some neighborhoods.
In a new initiative, City Council members have earmarked $3.5 million in fiscal year 2015 for districts to bring in outside groups — such as The Doe Fund — to do extra tidying up.
The money could also pay for additional shifts at the Sanitation Department for bin-emptying on street corners, where the garbage tends to pile up, according to Council Member David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn), who helped secure the funding.
Vito Turso, a Sanitation spokesman, said highly trafficked business improvement districts have been hiring outside firms for extra cleaning for years.
He said the agency welcomes an extra hand — particularly in busier areas.
“We never say no to someone coming in and helping us out,” he said. “There’s certainly a long precedent for it being an effective way to keep a neighborhood clean.”