Ideas for DSNY Museum

Maggie Lee from the Department of Sanitation came to talk to our class last week about the museum that the department is planning to build. She told us about the DSNY and about the goals/purpose of the museum.

Goals:

Awareness:

• Inform the public about how much the DSNY does for the public

Education:

• Should have an education aspect for school groups

  • The programming will depend on where the museum location (could be in Manhattan or at Freshkills Park)

• Public education about the lifecycle of trash

• Explain what exactly the DSNY does

• History of the DSNY

  • Dig into the DSNY archives

• Inspire innovation for a more sustainable future

Unify:

• Help to unify all different members of the DSNY - Unify

Prestige:

• To build the prestige of the department - prestige

The perspectives I was most drawn to were:

Idea 1:

The story of Freshkills Park and the landfill

• I want to think about what a landfill is/ what its purpose is

• How it fits into environmental efforts

• What is the park? Bring people there.

• Its role in 9/11 clean up (one of the points Maggie stressed)

Idea 2:

The story of the trash

• Follow the trash and it will tell a story — about the sanitation works, about recycling, about landfills etc.

• The trash is the angle for telling a much larger story

Idea 3:

The story of the Sanitation works

• Tell the story for the sanitation workers’ perspective, focus on them as the main character - from there learn about their jobs (can look at danger, pride, necessity of job).