The DSNY “Picking Up NYC” Exhibition at Photoville
A sanitation worker ‘picking up’ his route in Brooklyn. The labor is intense: a day’s work could involve lifting as much as 20 tons of material. Photo by Charlie Eisenbach, May 2020.
The Sanitation Foundation has an exhibition at Photoville 2020 which features the work of several photographers in addition to historical photographs and sketches from the DSNY archives. The exhibition is titled “Picking Up NYC”. Quotes throughout the exhibit are excerpts from "Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City" by Robin Nagle.
“Picking Up NYC” was curated by Andi Potamkin and Maggie Lee and features work by contemporary photographers Charlie Eisenbach, Michael Anton and Andrea Booher. These photos offer a glimpse into the Department’s rich history of heroism, inviting us to recognize the workforce for their nonstop efforts to keep New York City alive.
“The job of collecting Gotham’s municipal waste falls to the small army of men and women who make sure the city stays alive by wrestling with the challenge of garbage every day, fully aware that their efforts will receive scant notice and even less praise.”
For over a century, the men and women of the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) have heroically served the City as daily stewards of public health, and as emergency responders in extraordinary circumstances. As the workforce meets its latest challenge, picking up New York City during the coronavirus pandemic, we remember the countless challenges they’ve faced with unwavering strength.
In 1893, it was the Department of Street Cleaning (later renamed the Department of Sanitation), that started working to clear the streets of manure and waste, which had been spreading diseases for decades. From this public health crisis to the September 11th attacks, and Hurricane Sandy, the DSNY has always been there to pick up the pieces, clear the debris, and keep the city running.
Select exhibition images:
See and learn more by visiting the digital gallery at sanitationfoundation.org or at photoville.nyc.
About the photographers:
Charlie Eisenbach is a twenty year sanitation worker with the DSNY. He has a penchant for photography in his spare time. Mr. Eisenbach currently serves as an advisory board member with the Sanitation Foundation. Michael Anton is the official photographer of the New York City Department of Sanitation, and Andrea Booher is a photographer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).