Without these pictures I probably would have closed this window thinking it was all a joke. Do New Yorkers ever visit other places and marvel at our technology?
Nope. I fucking hate NYC for many reasons and this is one of them. OMG NYC MOST MAGICAL CITY IN THE WOOORLD yeah so magical it smells like shit and piss everywhere and the sidewalks are made of garbage and bin juice because they never thought “oh hm maybe waste management is a thing.” NYC is one of the biggest shithole cities in the world and I will fight anyone who disagrees
This just screams good old-fashioned political machine corruption. The garbage collectors are unionized and have a good bit of political influence. It seems like NYC has been running its trash collection as a make-work program for years. The only advantage of doing trash this way is that it means you need to hire way more garbage collectors than you would with other systems. I’m all for having well paid jobs and providing people opportunities, but there are ways to do that without creating a huge public health nuisance.
I’ve consumed over three decades of USA media, including having watched shows based in NYC and this is the first I’ve learnt that they used to toss rubbush on the streets. American propaganda is powerful.
The blocks of buildings in 1800’s Manhattan were designed with the idea that a shared courtyard or laneway between two buildings would serve as everyone’s outhouse and garbage burning space. As space became a premium these spaces shrunk but nobody developed a solution for the garbage the way they did outhouses so they just started piling it on the sidewalks and expecting someone else to deal with it
What’s going on here? You mean NYC didn’t have trash cans before this? Where did people throw all their garbage? Someone please explain
Just tossed the garbage bags onto the sidewalks. How else do you think New York rats managed to get so big?
I hope you’re joking
No wonder NYC decorates Garbage Collectors like they’re Zhukov

New York Sanitation Workers are the only vets worthy of respect.
Braver than the NYPD
fighting the REAL battles, day after day
all non-cop non-troop workers should get cool military uniforms. teachers, nurses, sanitation workers get the coolest ones.
Couldn’t find a youtube link but there’s a Dollop episode
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4jtnpt8hJZzujKOgDoatZP
Without these pictures I probably would have closed this window thinking it was all a joke. Do New Yorkers ever visit other places and marvel at our technology?
No, in fact, they get really mad when you tell them that a city doesn’t have to smell like hot garbage and piss
This is… Really bad.
What. I had heard NYC was stinky but I didn’t know about… This.
Joke city. Pathetic.
Please, Xi…
That explains all the rats I saw back when I was in NYC subway (I think on F) back in like 2000.
Nope. I fucking hate NYC for many reasons and this is one of them. OMG NYC MOST MAGICAL CITY IN THE WOOORLD yeah so magical it smells like shit and piss everywhere and the sidewalks are made of garbage and bin juice because they never thought “oh hm maybe waste management is a thing.” NYC is one of the biggest shithole cities in the world and I will fight anyone who disagrees
Seriously though… they did just throw that shit on the street.
It’s amazing how this city managed to survive for 400 years
This just screams good old-fashioned political machine corruption. The garbage collectors are unionized and have a good bit of political influence. It seems like NYC has been running its trash collection as a make-work program for years. The only advantage of doing trash this way is that it means you need to hire way more garbage collectors than you would with other systems. I’m all for having well paid jobs and providing people opportunities, but there are ways to do that without creating a huge public health nuisance.
I’ve consumed over three decades of USA media, including having watched shows based in NYC and this is the first I’ve learnt that they used to toss rubbush on the streets. American propaganda is powerful.
you should just watch it instead of eating it
I mean these trash cans are a pilot project, so most of the city is still just throwing their garbage straight onto the sidewalks lol
Yes
lmao. Yes, it’s one of the first things a visitor to NYC usually notices. Before garbage collection, they just pile up the bags of trash on the street
The majority of other US cities either have alleys where trash collection happens, or there’s just more space for bins/dumpsters
so this documentary was real???
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
The blocks of buildings in 1800’s Manhattan were designed with the idea that a shared courtyard or laneway between two buildings would serve as everyone’s outhouse and garbage burning space. As space became a premium these spaces shrunk but nobody developed a solution for the garbage the way they did outhouses so they just started piling it on the sidewalks and expecting someone else to deal with it
Amazing. An entire city dedicated to dumping shit on the ground and wondering why they have rats
hahaha …