§ 20-22 Denial of Service Prohibited; Termination; Suspension of Service.
RCNY § 20-22
(a)General prohibition; minimum level of service.
(1)An awardee may not deny, suspend, or terminate commercial waste collection service to any commercial establishment within a zone for which the awardee has been awarded an agreement, except as otherwise provided in this section and as set forth in the agreement between the awardee and the Department pursuant to § 16-1002 of the Administrative Code.
(2)An awardee must offer to each commercial establishment within a zone for which the awardee has been awarded an agreement including the following minimum level of service: (i) At least two days of refuse collection per week; (ii) At least one day of designated recyclable materials collection per week; and (iii) If the commercial establishment is a designated covered establishment, at least one day of source separated organics collection per week.
(3)Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent a commercial establishment and an awardee from mutually agreeing on terms of service that include less frequent or more frequent collection than the minimum level of service described in paragraph (2) of this subdivision.
(b)Suspension or termination of service for non-payment.
(4)The Department will review each customer request for Department review and may ask either party to provide additional information necessary to make a determination. The Department will issue a final determination within 30 days of receipt of such request, unless such additional information is requested from either party, in which case the Department shall notify the parties of its determination within a reasonable timeframe. The awardee is under no obligation to provide service pending such review. If the awardee continues to provide service, any late fees set forth in the awardee's customer service agreement with the customer shall continue to accrue while such service is being provided in accordance with such agreement.
(c)Denial, suspension or termination for other allowable reasons.
(5)The Department shall notify the awardee and the commercial establishment of its determination regarding whether the awardee's request for approval for denial, suspension or termination of service has been granted no later than 45 days after receipt of a copy of the notice described in paragraph (4) of this subdivision, unless additional information is requested by the Department from either party, in which case the Department shall notify the parties of its determination within a reasonable timeframe. Within 15 days of receipt of such determination, either party may appeal such determination in writing to the Commissioner.
(6)If the commercial establishment is a current customer, the awardee must continue providing service to such customer until a final determination by the Department has been made.
(d)Nothing in this section shall preclude the awardee from seeking to enforce the terms of its agreement with a customer, including but not limited to terms governing damages or other remedies for breach of contract.
(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, amend or negate any obligation of the awardee to provide service to any commercial establishment in accordance with the terms of the agreement between the awardee and the Department entered into pursuant to § 16-1002 of the Administrative Code.
(f)A written contract for the removal, collection, or disposal of commercial waste that contains no provision regarding duration shall be terminable at will by the customer.
(g)(1) Subdivisions (a) through (c) of this section shall not apply to containerized commercial waste awardees providing collection, removal or disposal of containerized commercial waste in accordance with an agreement with the Department to provide such containerized commercial waste collection, removal and disposal service citywide pursuant to § 16-1002 of the Administrative Code.
(h)If a customer's service is suspended or terminated, the awardee shall provide written notification to the Department within 24 hours and shall include in this notification the customer name and address, reason for suspension or termination, and any unresolved customer complaints. (Added City Record 11/16/2021, eff. 12/16/2021*; amended City Record 10/9/2025, eff. 11/8/2025) * Editor's note: For specific effective date provisions, see the editor's note at 16 RCNY Ch. 20.
