City brings 'Empire Bin' trash container program to Brooklyn
Seven hundred of the bins will be installed across Brooklyn Community District 2 by the end of the fall.
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New York City brought its "Empire Bins" garbage container program to Brooklyn's residential buildings for the first time Thursday, installing one of the 793-gallon bins outside 8 Garden Place in Brooklyn Heights.
"They're pretty big," said Taylor Bell, who lives in the area, "I don't know what to think quite yet...A little bit of an eyesore."
On the other hand, Tommy Valtin-Irwin, who lives at 8 Garden Place, said, "I really don't mind it. I think they look cute."
The city plans to install 700 of the Empire Bins across Brooklyn Community District 2 by the end of the fall. The district includes Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Ferry, DUMBO, Vinegar Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Brooklyn Navy Yard.
"The effects that these bins will have on our city will be nothing short of transformative," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference. "They will reduce the amount of pests by making it harder for rats and roaches to find their next meal. They will improve sidewalk access."
According to city policy, any building with more than 30 residential units is required to get an Empire Bin, while buildings with between ten and 30, like 8 Garden Place, have the choice of the bin, which the city pays for, or sticking with individual containers.
"You can probably see our trash is in a ridiculous state," said Valtin-Irwin, gesturing to the overflowing individual "NYC Bins" behind him.
The City claims a pilot program for the bins in Harlem that started in June of 2025 led to a 23% decrease in 311 complaints for rats, and an 18% drop in complaints for dirty conditions.
"I'm really hoping it helps in some way with that," Valtin-Irwin said, "and that it reduces the smell more than anything else."
The Department of Sanitation tells News 12 the bins, which are on the street, will take up around 1.5% of existing parking spots in Brooklyn Community District 2.
However, citywide, the number is expected to be a little higher, and closer to 4% or 5% per district.
"In exchange for that, we're going to have the cleaner, healthier streets we deserve," City Council Member Lincoln Restler argued at the press conference.
"It makes sense," agreed Austen Payan, who lives around the corner. "Just swap a few cars for a few trash bins and we'll see what happens."
City plans call for at least one district in each borough to have Empire Bins by the end of 2027, with the entire city covered by 2031.
