City sanitation workers would be banned from issuing trash-related fines to New Yorkers during some weekend hours — including during the Jewish Sabbath — under a new proposed state bill.
The bill, introduced by Assembly member Simcha Eichenstein on Monday, seeks to change the Sanitation Department’s “discriminatory” evening curbside garbage drop-off rules, which have resulted in $50 to $300 fines for Orthodox Jewish residents who are prohibited from handling trash during the religious observance, the pol said.
“This policy is unacceptable and must come to [an] end,” Eichenstein said in a statement. “New Yorkers should not have to choose between their religious beliefs and avoiding a ticket.”
The bill would prohibit Sanit agents from ticketing property owners from 3 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday.
“This proposed law isn’t just for the Orthodox Jewish community – it’s for all New Yorkers,” Eichenstein said. “It affects anyone who wishes to leave town for the weekend and doesn’t want to return home to an unfair ticket.”
The rules, implemented last year, require 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.
Some religious New Yorkers previously told The Post the time affects observant Jews who are supposed to refrain from activities viewed as work during the Sabbath – but Sanitation Department rep Vincent Gragnani argued at the time that the change “brought the largest year-over-year drop in rat sightings since 2010.
“That old 4 p.m. set-out time was among the earliest in the country, and it meant that black bags of trash sat on our curbs more than half the day,” Gragnani said. “Sustained progress depends on compliance with the rules.”
The Sanitation Department on Tuesday referred a Post request for comment to City Hall, where a representative said in a statement, “We are aware of community concerns regarding restrictions on Shabbat, which is why the New York City Department of Sanitation has offered to change the collection day for impacted communities from Saturday to another day of the week.
“This offer still stands, and we look forward to working with community leaders to ensure our services are provided in a culturally sensitive manner while still keeping our neighborhoods clean and safe. We will review the legislation.”