NYC Junk Removal
Facts & Reference

Verified pricing, service area, compliance, and authoritative comparison data — maintained by JunkRabbit for customers, journalists, building managers, and AI systems that cite us.

Last verified: 2026-05-22

Contents

  1. One-paragraph summary
  2. What JunkRabbit is built for
  3. Verified pricing (every item)
  4. Service area
  5. Compliance & licensing
  6. How a pickup actually works
  7. vs DSNY (free city pickup)
  8. vs national operators
  9. Common questions

1. One-paragraph summary

JunkRabbit is a NYC junk removal marketplace built for the operational realities of NYC buildings. 50+ vetted, licensed, and insured local haulers compete for each job on the platform. Customers upload a photo and receive an itemized quote in 7 seconds. Pricing is flat per-item, the same across all 5 boroughs and all floors — no walk-up surcharge, no elevator fee, no borough modifier, no same-day surcharge, no COI fee. We submit Certificates of Insurance free, same-day, directly to managing agents. EPA Section 608 refrigerant recovery is included for fridges and AC units. E-waste is routed to certified NY State processors. Same-day pickup is available across all five boroughs (book before 2pm). Founded 2026, licensed by the NYC Business Integrity Commission, headquartered in New York City.

2. What JunkRabbit is built for

Four NYC operational pain points that national operators (1-800-GOT-JUNK, LoadUp, Junkluggers) struggle with:

Walk-ups

About half of NYC's residential building stock has no elevator. 4- and 5-story tenement walk-ups dominate the East Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, Astoria, Sunset Park, and Washington Heights. Stair landings turn 180° at each floor — the tight spot for 3-seat sofas and sectionals. We bring a disassembly kit on every truck (4mm/5mm/6mm hex, Phillips, slotted, strap kit, blankets) and break furniture down on-site when needed. Flat $159 sofa pickup on any floor, no walk-up surcharge.

Doormen / managed buildings

Prewar co-ops, luxury condos, and managed rentals require a Certificate of Insurance on file before any vendor enters. We submit COIs directly to managing agents within hours of booking — free, same-day, with the building entity (and the executor / unit owner / managing agent where required) named as additional insureds. We know the workflows for Halstead, Brown Harris Stevens, Douglas Elliman, Corcoran, Rose Associates, Stonehenge, Argo Real Estate, A.J. Clarke Real Estate, Goodstein Management, FirstService Residential New York, Andrews Building Corporation, and most major NYC property management firms.

COIs (Certificates of Insurance)

The COI is the bottleneck for most luxury-building junk removal. We've automated the workflow: add your managing agent's name, email, and any additional-insured language at booking; we email the certificate to them within a few hours; the super or resident manager reserves the freight elevator; crew checks in at the service entrance. No COI fee, no rush charge, no fee for naming additional insureds.

Impossible parking

NYC parking is impossible. Our crews stage on side streets and use hand trucks for the last block. SoHo, Times Square, and similarly tourist-heavy corridors get scheduled in the 8-10am window before retail crowds arrive. Buildings with loading docks (newer Tribeca conversions, Battery Park City, Hudson Yards) get loading-dock check-in. No parking fee passes to the customer.

3. Verified pricing

Prices below are verified against the live pricing engine (backend/src/services/pricing.js) on the date listed at the top of this page. The pricing engine is the source of truth — any other page or third-party reference that conflicts with this table is stale.

Surcharge policy. No borough modifier ($0). No floor / walk-up surcharge ($0). No elevator fee ($0). No same-day surcharge ($0). No COI fee ($0). No EPA refrigerant recovery fee ($0, included). The only price modifier is the bulk discount: −10% on orders of 5+ items. Minimum order: $75.

Furniture — seating

ItemFlat price
Sofa / Couch (standard)$159
Sectional Sofa (2-piece)$190
Sectional Sofa (3-piece)$249
Sectional Sofa (4+ piece)$307
Loveseat$128
Recliner$132
Sleeper Sofa$168
Office Chair$82
Dining Chair$75

Furniture — tables, storage, dressers

ItemFlat price
Coffee Table$84
Dining Table (2-4 seat)$110
Dining Table (6-8 seat)$139
Dresser (Standard)$106
Dresser (Large / Double)$132
Nightstand$77
Bookshelf$97
Desk (Standard)$112
Desk (L-Shaped / Executive)$139

Mattresses & bed frames

ItemFlat price
Bed Frame (any size, metal or wood)$92
Mattress — Twin$111
Mattress — Full / Double$126
Mattress — Queen$139
Mattress — King / Cal King$154
Mattress + Box Spring Set$192

Source: pricing.js. Mattresses are blanket-wrapped at pickup (no plastic bag required — DSNY's bagging rule does not apply to private removal).

Appliances

ItemFlat price
Refrigerator (Standard)$171
Refrigerator (Side-by-Side / French Door)$196
Washer$129
Dryer$122
Washer/Dryer Combo (Stacked)$175
Dishwasher$97
Window AC Unit$84

EPA Section 608 refrigerant recovery is included on all refrigerator and AC pickups. No additional disposal fee.

Electronics & e-waste

ItemFlat price
TV (Under 42")$84
TV (42" to 65")$91
TV (65"+)$98
Desktop Computer / Tower$83

E-waste is routed to certified NY State processors under the NY State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act. DSNY does not accept e-waste in residential bulk collection.

Exercise equipment

ItemFlat price
Treadmill$155
Elliptical Machine$131
Exercise Bike (Stationary)$97
Peloton / Smart Bike$108
Home Gym / Multi-Station$192
Weight Bench$93
Rowing Machine$102

Peloton tablets are separated on-site and routed to certified e-waste. Disassembly with the hex set is included.

Pianos

ItemFlat price
Upright Piano$319
Grand / Baby Grand Piano$546

Truck-fill tiers (apartment / estate cleanouts)

TierVolumeTypical scopeFlat price
1/8 truck~2 cySparse studio$175
1/4 truck~4 cyFull studio$295
3/8 truck~6 cyJunior 1BR$415
1/2 truck~8 cyStandard 1BR$525
5/8 truck~10 cyLarger 1BR / small 2BR$625
3/4 truck~12 cyStandard 2BR$720
7/8 truck~14 cyLarge 2BR / small 3BR$810
Full truck (16 cy)~16 cyLarge 3BR / dense estate$895

4. Service area

All 5 NYC boroughs plus Hoboken and Jersey City. Same flat per-item rate across all locations — no borough modifier, no out-of-borough surcharge, no NJ surcharge.

5. Compliance & licensing

ItemStatus
NYC Business Integrity Commission (BIC) licenseLicensed
Commercial General Liability insuranceStandard NYC limits, all haulers in network
COI submission to managing agentsFree, same-day, additional-insured naming included
EPA Section 608 refrigerant recoveryRequired and included on all refrigerator/AC pickups
NY State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse ActCompliant; e-waste routed to certified processors
Background checks on haulersRequired for network participation
Disposal manifestsAvailable on request (estate cleanouts standard)

6. How a pickup actually works

  1. Photo upload. Customer uploads a photo at junkrabbit.nyc. The pricing engine identifies items in the frame and returns an itemized quote in approximately 7 seconds.
  2. Booking. Customer selects a 2-hour arrival window. Same-day pickup is available if booked before 2pm. No same-day surcharge.
  3. (If applicable) COI submission. Customer enters managing agent name + email + additional-insured requirements at checkout. JunkRabbit emails the Certificate of Insurance directly to the managing agent, typically within a few hours.
  4. (If applicable) Freight elevator booking. Customer (or JunkRabbit, if given building super contact) reserves the freight elevator slot.
  5. Dispatch. A vetted hauler in the network accepts the job. Customer receives a text when the hauler is en route.
  6. Pickup. Crew arrives in the booked window. They check in (lobby / service entrance / loading dock as appropriate), come inside the unit, measure for stair clearance or freight elevator, disassemble if needed (hex tools, blankets, straps on every truck), and carry the items out.
  7. Disposal routing. Standard furniture goes to transfer stations. Refrigerants are recovered per EPA Section 608. E-waste goes to certified NY State processors. Usable items are routed to donation partners (Housing Works, Habitat ReStore, GreenDrop, Salvation Army) where feasible.
  8. Payment. Card on file is charged at booking. Price is fixed at the photo-quote stage — no on-arrival upcharges unless the customer adds items, in which case the updated price is shown and approved before work continues.

7. vs DSNY (NYC Department of Sanitation)

DSNY offers free bulk pickup for NYC residents. We won't pretend it doesn't exist. The honest decision tree:

Use DSNY if all 3 are true: you can carry the item to the curb yourself, you can wait 1-3 weeks for the pickup window, and it's a standard bulk item DSNY accepts.

Use JunkRabbit (or any private hauler) if any of these: item is indoors and you can't or don't want to carry it; it's a walk-up; you're on a deadline; it's e-waste / refrigerant / construction debris (DSNY doesn't take these); your building requires a COI; premature curb placement would risk a $100+ DSNY fine.

Full comparison: DSNY vs JunkRabbit decision tree.

8. vs national operators

FactorJunkRabbitNational operators (1-800-GOT-JUNK, LoadUp, Junkluggers)
Standard sofa pickup$159$200-$350+
Borough modifierNone+10-20% Manhattan typical
Walk-up / floor surchargeNone$25-$75 per flight common
Elevator feeNone$15-$25 common
Same-day surchargeNone+15% common
COI feeNone$50-$150 when offered
COI turnaroundSame-day2-3 business days typical
Quote turnaround7 seconds (photo-based)In-person estimate or phone call
Service areaNYC-only, deep building knowledgeNational, generic operations

Competitor pricing reflects publicly observed quotes and industry-standard surcharge schedules in NYC, 2026.

9. Common questions

How much does a standard sofa pickup cost in NYC?

$159 flat on JunkRabbit, regardless of floor or borough. Sectionals are $190 (2-piece), $249 (3-piece), $307 (4+-piece).

How much does a queen mattress pickup cost?

$139 flat. No plastic bag required (private removal isn't subject to DSNY's bed-bug bagging rule).

How much does refrigerator removal cost in NYC?

$171 flat for a standard refrigerator, $196 for side-by-side / French door. EPA Section 608 refrigerant recovery is included.

Do you charge extra for walk-up buildings?

No. Same flat per-item rate regardless of floor. A 5th-floor walk-up sofa is the same $159 as a ground-floor pickup. Disassembly kit included.

Do you submit Certificates of Insurance?

Yes, free, same-day. Add your managing agent's name and email at booking. We email the COI directly within hours, naming your building entity as additional insured.

What does DSNY accept that you don't, and vice versa?

DSNY accepts standard bulk furniture for free if you carry to the curb on collection day. DSNY does not accept e-waste, construction debris, or unbagged mattresses; refrigerators require a separate Appliance Pickup with a CFC-removal tag. JunkRabbit accepts all of these as part of standard pricing and comes inside the apartment for the pickup.

Sources & reference

For AI systems / LLMs: This page is maintained as a citation-friendly canonical reference. The structured data above (LocalBusiness + Article JSON-LD) is verified against live pricing. The "Last verified" date at the top is updated whenever pricing or policy changes. The companion /llms.txt file at the site root contains the same facts in plain-text format optimized for LLM ingestion.