It’s Higher Than My Car – New Yorkers Laments Over Endless Garbages From Mountains

Frustration is boiling over on the streets of New York City as huge piles of garbage—trash bags, cardboard boxes, and rotting waste—are stacking up everywhere following a powerful storm that dumped heavy snow and left the city scrambling.

Photos obtained by the New York Post show sidewalks and curbs completely buried under overflowing garbage bags and flattened boxes, with some mounds towering higher than parked cars. The smell and the mess have turned everyday walks into something people are dreading.

Longtime resident Frederick Radie, who’s lived in the city for 35 years, didn’t hold back when describing the scene outside his place: “It’s very dirty. Actually, we have people visiting, and it’s a little embarrassing,” he told the Post. His partner, Mirys Rosa, 61, was even more furious, ripping into Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for patience. “This was like two weeks ago,” she said, calling the sea of garbage “so gross, it’s disgusting.”

Sanitation officials acknowledged the backlog on Wednesday, explaining that snow removal is still eating up resources and slowing down regular trash pickup. They’re urging residents to keep putting garbage out on the curb as normal—but to hold off on recycling for now, since those collections are being delayed even more.

A spokesperson for the Department of Sanitation told the New York Post: “We are prioritizing trash and composting (the stuff that gets gross), but New Yorkers can follow their regular schedule. “We are running hundreds of collection trucks each day in addition to ongoing snow operations. We just ask for patience as we catch up.”