Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Sanitation  Commissioner John J. Doherty today announced that the Department of Sanitation will be implementing a new street cleaning plan for Bronx Community Board 8 that will reduce alternate-side parking sweeping regulations. The new plan will reduce the number of 90-minute street cleanings from twice a week to once a week on residential streets throughout the district, which includes the Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Fieldston, and Marble Hill sections of the Bronx. The proposed plan will be presented to the Community Board for a vote on January 13, 2009

"The idea of changing alternate side of the street parking regulations in this neighborhood came up at a civic meeting held in Riverdale's P.S. 24 in October of last year," said Mayor Bloomberg. "That's when this proposal was born. I asked the Sanitation Commissioner to study the idea, and I am happy to say he has determined that we can reduce the frequency of alternate side regulations while still maintaining our record high levels of clean streets."

"Maintaining the cleanliness of the City's streets, which are cleaner than they have been in more than 30 years, is one of our vital missions," said Commissioner Doherty. "This proposed new program for Bronx Community Board 8 is a reflection of City government listening to and addressing the needs of its constituents."

"We have found that reduced parking regulations can balance the need to maintain clean streets with the demands for residential and commercial parking," said Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, the agency which will replace signs in the district with the new regulations. "So in addition to easing parking for local residents, new signs can also help meet the varying needs of businesses in these communities."

"This change will be a tremendous relief to tens of thousands of people in our community," said Anthony P. Cassino, chair of the Bronx Community Board 8 Traffic and Transportation Committee. "Reducing the street cleaning rules from four days to two will greatly improve the quality of life for local residents, while wisely redeploying limited City resources to commercial areas.  The benefits range from reducing air pollution and traffic congestion to saving us all money on wasted time, gas and parking tickets. This is a great example of a successful collaboration between the Community Board, the Mayor, his Community Affairs Unit and the Sanitation Department.  In addition, it is impressive that the City has acted so quickly in adopting the changes proposed by Board 8 just nine months ago."      

The Bronx plan provides for enhanced cleaning along the district's commercial corridors, which would see those streets swept six times a week. Current street cleaning regulations vary within the district.

This proposed plan is similar to the new street cleaning regulations for Brooklyn Community Board 6 (Park Slope, Red Hook, Carroll Gardens), which were implemented earlier this year.