AAA Carting and Town Make Peace, Company Earns New Contract

YORKTOWN, N.Y. - Even though the town has been involved in ongoing legal wranglings with the AAA Carting & Rubbish Removal over the past two years, the two sides have decided to bury the hatchet and the company will return as the town’s garbage hauler on Sept. 1.

After two rounds of bidding, the Town Board awarded a two-year contract to the Buchanan, N.Y.-based AAA Carting and will pay it $7,072,500. The contract includes the option to extend the deal for another three years. The board voted 4-0 with one abstention to accept the deal.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

AAA was Yorktown’s garbage hauler from 2018 to 2022.

In 2022, the town had awarded a five-year contract to Competitive Carting Corporation (CCC) that would begin in January 2023. At that point, AAA filed an Article 78 lawsuit against the town, former supervisor Matt Slater, late Supervisor Tom Diana, councilmembers Ed Lachterman, Sergio Esposito, and Luciana Haughwout, and CCC.

An Article 78 proceeding does not seek monetary compensation but rather challenges the legality of actions and decisions of a government agency.

The suit looked to overturn the town’s decision to hire CCC instead of AAA, but then CCC was fired by the town in August 2023 after failing to fulfill its end of the contract. After CCC’s contract was terminated, the town entered into an emergency, one-year contract with C.R.P. AAA subsequently filed a second lawsuit against the town in the wake of that new contract.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

In March, Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Prisco ruled AAA failed to prove the town acted improperly in awarding CCC the bid and subsequently tossed the case. At the time, Pat Cartalemi, CFO of AAA said his company intended to appeal the court’s decision.

AAA has since offered to drop the lawsuits, and the two sides have decided to do business together once again.

Cartalemi and Lachterman said that the lawsuits are part of the past and won’t impact their working relationship.

“I have no problem working with the town,” Cartalemi said. “I’ve been in contact with Ed [Lachterman] over the last few months. AAA has no issues with anyone.”

Lachterman said hiring AAA was in the best interest of the taxpayers.

“No, [the lawsuits] are not going to impact how we work with them and their ability to get the job done,” he said.  “They are offering the service for the best price and that’s what our responsibility is for the town.

“We received three bids for our new garbage contract, and AAA was the lowest responsible bidder,” he continued. “We look forward to working with AAA to modify some of their previous collection times to minimize noise on collection days.’’

Other bidders for the contract were Mahopac Scrap, for $7,647,000 across the two years, and C.R.P. Sanitation, Inc., $8,078,40, also for two years.

“We are happy to be back in the town, happy to be able to save the taxpayers some money on the contract, and we are going to provide the same great level of service we have in the past,” Cartalemi said.

Councilwoman Susan Siegel, who joined the board earlier this month after winning a special election, abstained from the contract vote during the board’s Aug. 8 meeting because she was not involved in the ongoing garbage haulers negotiations during the past year.

“I’m happy that the issues were resolved and that we can just move forward,” she said. “The cost for refuse for 2025 will also come down which is great, and that will play into the tentative budget.”

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net