NYC Sanitation Dept. opens up civil service ranks for first time in seven years

The Big Apple is looking to fill out the ranks of New York’s Strongest.

The Sanitation Department announced Tuesday that it’s opening up its civil service exam to new applicants through most of June — the first time it’s put out the test in seven years.

“We often take for granted that we move tons of trash,” Mayor Adams said Tuesday inside one of the city’s 59 Sanitation Department garages. “The importance of this occupation and profession — it’s a significant part of our city.”

Department of Sanitation New York workers handle trash in Manhattan, New York. (Shutterstock/)

To apply for a job, applicants must register for the exam between June 8 and June 28. The test, which will be administered by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, will be offered on a rolling basis and is expected to be made available starting in September.

Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED, be17-and-a-half years old when they take the exam and be vaccinated for COVID or have proof of vaccination exemption to apply.

Those who take the test will be ranked by their scores and chosen in order from a list as jobs become available. Starting pay is $40,622 a year, and the salary ceiling among rank-and-file workers is $83,465 annually.

Cherry Bailey, who took the exam 19 years ago and now serves as a chief in the department, didn’t take long to reach that ceiling and surpass it. She recalled Tuesday how joining the job changed her life and provided her and her son with a stable income at a time when the family’s financial footing was far from stable.

“I was a flight attendant at the time, and it was right around 9/11 — two years after it happened,” she told The News. “The airline business was very shaky at the time ... Every week, I’d go into work, and there’d be news: ‘We’re furloughing a couple more.’ And I just couldn’t live with the instability.”

Adams and Sanitation Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch urged New Yorkers to apply and touted the jobs as an entry point into the middle class.

“I know how important it was for my family. It was important for me, and we want to send the message out loud and clear to other New Yorkers,” Adams, a former NYPD captain, said. “Sign up, be a part of this great movement and be part of keeping our city clean, safe and healthy.”