Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Business Integrity Commission

Business Integrity Commission Revokes Sanitation Salvage’s License to Operate on NYC Streets

2:29 PM EDT on August 24, 2018

Scene of the crash that killed Leon Clark. Photo: News 12

Send this rogue carting company to the scrap heap: The city has finally revoked trash hauler Sanitation Salvage's permit.

On Friday, the Business Integrity Commission used its "emergency suspension" power to pull the license of the politically connected Bronx company — which was connected to 58 collisions since March 2016, including two fatalities in a six-month period — after city agents saw an unlicensed employee driving one of the company's dump trucks while his coworkers got pizza, according to the Daily News.

Mayoral spokesperson Eric Phillips confirmed the news on Twitter.

The city's actions are long overdue.

In May, ProPublica revealed that company employee Sean Spence and the company had lied to police about the identity of the person he struck and killed in November. Spence initially claimed Mouctar Diallo, 21, was a "homeless man." Diallo was in fact an off-the-books Sanitation Salvage employee.

The ProPublica investigation led to immediate calls to the city from elected officials and advocates to revoke the company's license. The commission took three months to act, and even then only took action against Spence, banning him from driving carting trucks.

With Friday's announcement, the Department of Sanitation will take over Sanitation Salvage's 6,000 clients for two weeks to allow customers to find other carters. The city will assist the company's 87 employees in finding new work, the Daily News said.

Sanitiation Salvage's owners — the politically connected Squitieri family — can appeal the license revocation. If they do, a hearing will be held next week.

The BIC's decision to revoke Sanitation Salvage's license marks an aggressive new front against carting companies, who have killed at least 43 people in NYC since 2010 and regularly flout labor regulations. Advocates from the labor-aligned Transform Don't Trash coalition, which is pushing for citywide carting reforms, celebrated the news.

"Companies like Sanitation Salvage should not be doing business in this city, and BIC made the right decision to revoke their license," said Teamsters Local 813 President Sean Campbell. "For years, private carters thought no one would hold them accountable and they would get away with dangerous practices."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024

SEE IT: Hit-and-Run Driver With Fake Plate Seriously Injures Cyclist

The 5 p.m. crash occurred at Flushing and Waverly avenue near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

March 28, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Shakira Shakira Edition

Pop superstar Shakira performed for a crowd of 40,000 packed into the Times Square pedestrian plazas. Plus congestion pricing news and more.

March 28, 2024
See all posts