There is so much talent in our Department. Last week’s swearing-in and promotion ceremony was a meaningful reminder of our workforce’s dedication when facing challenges few New Yorkers can imagine. That’s the importance of our annual Merit Awards: They allow us to acknowledge our successes in serving our city.

Our Merit Awards reflect the best – and the heart – of our Department. Our Citation and Award recipients have performed with valiance, grace and generosity while helping other employees and members of the public. This year, we honored Manhattan 1 Sanitation Workers Wilson Arroyo and Carlos Rosado and Sanitation Police Officers Ryan Kashuba and Anthony Rizzo with our Gold Medal of Honor. Sanitation Workers Arroyo and Rosado were acutely aware of their surroundings while on their route – and spotted four very young children abandoned by their babysitter, left alone in a running car on a busy street. They waited to protect the children until they found NYPD officers, who arrested the sitter and returned the children home safely. Our Sanitation Police Officers were at the top of their game, too, when they apprehended an armed man at our headquarters. They handcuffed him, confiscated his firearm and detained him until NYPD officers took him into custody. Of course, sometimes our colleagues work best when reaching across the constructs of bureaus. Case in point: The 2016 North Shore MTS and Bureaus of Motor Equipment and Building Maintenance. Together, this de facto team of men and women, representing uniformed and civilian tradespeople found innovative ways to bring the first-of-its-kind MTS to life, fulfilling the promise of the Solid Waste Management Plan. For this reason, these units earned this year’s Unit Citation.

Similarly, the NYC Organics Team is comprised of employees across the Department – of all ranks and titles – who collaborated to expand our organics programs. From developing strategies to overcome obstacles to devising routes to building residents’ participation, hundreds of our coworkers focused on this project that’s critical in bringing organics collections or drop-off sites citywide by the end of 2018, a key step in sending zero waste to landfills by 2030. For this achievement, they have been given the coveted Commissioner’s Citation.

Please extend your congratulations to our colleagues for their hard work and dedication -- and thank you for all that you do to keep New York healthy, safe, and clean.