Exclusive | Orthodox Jews trash NYC Sanitation Department over garbage drop-off rules they say conflict with sabbath

Is nothing sacred?Orthodox Jews who observe the sabbath are trashing the city Sanitation Department over its stricter evening curbside garbage drop-offs, saying they are getting slapped with fines for adhering to their religion.In some heavily orthodox neighborhoods like Crown Heights, trash has to be brought to the curb on Friday for Saturday pickup — when residents are preparing to to observe 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,” fumed Crown Heights resident Kan Tzivah.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, when observant Jews are supposed to refrain from activities viewed as work.“I even tried explaining this to a DSNY worker who was issuing tickets right before Shabbos on our block recently,” Tzivah 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.” The city now requires property owners to put out bins 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 were upped from 4 p.m.in an effort to cut down on the time rats and rodents have easy access to food scraps, officials have said.

Locals shared with The Post copies of summonses for bringing out their trash receptacles too early, with fines ranging 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 and educator who recently received a summons.“I appreciate all those who are working on resolving this issu...