BARUCH COLLEGE–The last thing Belkis Mencia wanted was more expenses. But in August, the owner of Mama Mecho Pollos a la Brasa, a Dominican restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn, found herself spending an extra $380 buying new trash containers.
Just a few blocks away, Arismendy Gerez, owner of Mi Bella Dama Restaurant, had to spend an extra $1,000 buying containers for his business, too.
Both restaurants received notice from the New York City Department of Sanitation about the new rules: All food-related businesses must use rigid containers with secure lids when setting out their trash for collection. The goal is to get the trash bags off the street to fight one of the city’s worst enemies: Rats.
