The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) owns and operates a fleet of approximately six thousand vehicles—the trucks and street sweepers that are likely the most familiar element of the waste system for many New Yorkers—which are repaired and refurbished at the Central Repair Shop, a building in central Queens that is as long as the Empire State Building is tall.

Led by DSNY officials, this tour of the largest municipal vehicle and building repair facility in the nation will highlight the million-square-foot space and include visits to the machine shop, engine room, rebuilding center, and truck repair and fabricating departments. Visitors will also get a close-up look at the Department’s Class 8 Vehicle Emissions Testing Laboratory, a state-of-the-art innovation center and one of only a few such facilities in the country. Visitors will also get to meet current DSNY Public Artist in Residence, sTo Len, who will talk about his artwork in the print shop and his archive project in the old TV studio.

All tour participants should wear closed-toe shoes.