New York’s holiday tree‑pickup schedule finally stretches into spring
After months of complaints about Christmas trees clogging sidewalks, the city has decided to keep the tradition of collecting those pine‑yoked ornaments well beyond the New Year. New Yorkers who sent their grievances to 311 in 2023 and 2024 now complain less, thanks to a revamped pickup timetable that runs through early May.
City officials say the change was prompted by the expansion of the curbside composting program, which treats “naked” holiday trees the same as yard waste. “Christmas trees will be collected curbside this week. And next week. And the week after. And even in May!” the Department of Sanitation posted in a Wednesday announcement. Residents can leave unadorned trees on their curb during their regular composting and recycling days, and the city will haul them away.
Since 2022, residents have filed 679 tree‑pickup complaints. Of the hundreds filed in 2023‑24, roughly half came from five community boards covering Oakwood on Staten Island, Park Slope and Bedford‑Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, and Springfield Gardens in Queens. The new schedule has already seen zero complaints in 2025, suggesting the extended timeline is doing its job.
The city’s longstanding practice of offering only a handful of “special” holiday collection dates had left many sidewalks blocked long after St. Nick was gone. Now that the city has more dedicated pickup windows and the support of its compost program, New Yorkers can kiss those cluttered streets goodbye a bit earlier—and, thanks to the new policy, perhaps even in May.
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