Data Report · NYC · Updated Quarterly
NYC 311 trash & odor complaints — the borough breakdown.
Where the calls cluster, when they spike, and what actually fixes them. A field reference for NYC property managers, building engineers, boards, and city reporters — built from NYC Open Data.
Three patterns show up every year.
Trash-adjacent 311 complaints roughly triple to quadruple from January to peak July across every borough. Heat accelerates bacterial odor production in chutes and compactor rooms.
Class-A residential corridors — UES, UWS, Downtown Brooklyn, LIC, Riverdale — generate a disproportionate share because of building density and vertical waste streams (chutes serving 20+ floors).
A small percentage of building addresses generate the majority of trash-related 311 complaints. Root cause is rarely 'more trash' — it's a broken dispensing program, dry drain traps, or a positive-pressure compactor room.
Where the complaints come from.
| Borough | Population | Trash/odor 311 (annual) | Top complaint type | Peak months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 2.6M | ~42,000 | Dirty Conditions / Sanitation | Jul – Sep |
| Queens | 2.4M | ~35,000 | Dirty Conditions / Sanitation | Jul – Sep |
| Manhattan | 1.6M | ~28,000 | Sanitation / Air Quality | Jun – Sep |
| Bronx | 1.4M | ~31,000 | Dirty Conditions | Jul – Aug |
| Staten Island | 0.5M | ~7,500 | Sanitation Condition | Jul – Aug |
Ranges reflect NYC Open Data 311 Service Requests aggregated over rolling 24-month windows. Numbers are user-reported and lag actual conditions.
Five root causes we find in NYC buildings.
Fragrance-only programs
Perfume masks for 30 minutes; bacteria continue producing sulfur compounds. You need chemistry that neutralizes at the molecule.
Dry floor drains in trash rooms
The single most common source of sewer-gas odor. P-traps go dry between wash-downs and pull sewer gas back into the room.
Positive-pressure trash rooms
If exhaust is undersized, air pushes OUT into corridors every time the door opens — turning one bad room into a lobby complaint.
No gravity dispensing at the top of the chute
Treating only the compactor room ignores 20+ floors of chute shaft. Odor rises the whole stack.
Worn compactor gaskets
Hydraulic seals fail quietly. Complaints spike, cause is invisible until someone walks the equipment.
How we built this report.
- Source: NYC Open Data — 311 Service Requests (open dataset erm2-nwe9).
- Complaint types filtered: Dirty Conditions, Sanitation Condition, Unsanitary Condition, Air Quality (Odor subcategory), and Rodent (as a downstream indicator of untreated waste).
- Aggregated by borough, ZIP, and month over rolling 24-month windows.
- Numbers rounded to reflect ranges — 311 data is user-reported and lags actual conditions.
Reporters, researchers, and building professionals are welcome to cite this report with attribution to Luften and a link back to this page.
Is your building a repeat address?
A Luften engineer will pull your address's 311 history, walk the building, and price a program on-site. Free, no obligation.