Contact: Colleen Roche or Kim Serafin (212) 788-2958
(Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn) Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today addressed the first class of Department of Sanitation (DOS) Police Officers and Enforcement Agents to graduate since 1994, telling them that they should be proud to be part of the largest municipal police agency in the nation solely dedicated to enforcing environmental and health laws. Joining the Mayor for the graduation of 26 new DOS Police Officers and 21 Enforcement Agents was Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty.
"I am very pleased to be here today for this special graduation ceremony. The men and women who work for the Department's Enforcement Division do some of the most important and necessary work for the City of New York. Each day their constant dedication and hard work help make our City a safer and cleaner place -- and this contributes greatly to the improving quality of life all New Yorkers enjoy," said Mayor Giuliani.
The Mayor also asked the new graduates to remember Michael Hanly, the 22-year-veteran Sanitation hero who recently lost his life when a canister of hydrofluoric acid -- illegally disposed of -- exploded, killing him almost instantly.
The Mayor concluded, "Sanitation workers, police officers and enforcement agents are among the City unheralded heroes. Not only is New York the safest large City in America, thanks to the efforts of the entire Sanitation Department, it is fast becoming one of the cleanest." Last month, City streets received the highest cleanliness rating -- 82.9% -- since the City instituted the rating system, 22 years ago.
More than 200 officers and agents work within the City's Sanitation Department to enforce environmental laws, from recycling compliance to illegal dumping. In Fiscal Year 1996 Sanitation enforcement personnel issued approximately 200,000 summons for infractions such as littering and "pooper scooper" violations. This special force also ensures that business and homeowners maintain neat and clean sidewalks in front of their establishments
The Sanitation Department's Enforcement Division dates back 60 years, to 1936, when it was established to enforce the City's sanitary and administrative codes.