Of all the irritants that come with being a homeowner in Brooklyn, gratuitous tickets from the sanitation police may top the list. The current law holds property owners liable for the smallest candy wrapper (or soda can, like the one above that greeted us on our return from the airport yesterday) that any passerby decides to drop on the sidewalk — and even up to 18 inches off the curb. Right now, the garbage police can write tickets (for anywhere from $50 to $250) for infractions between 8 and 9 in the morning and noon and one o’clock in the afternoon. (As you may recall, our respect for these civil servants was forever tarnished by an incident we had in Williamsburg a few years ago.) Given what a cash cow this policy is for the sanitation department, there has been great resistance to change. But now there are two bills in front of the City Council that seek to take at least some of the sting out of enforcement. The first bill, from David Yassky, would require a written warning for a first offense; if a second infraction were noted within 30 days, a fine would be levied. A second bill, from Simcha Felder, would push the mid-day ticketing hour to after 5 p.m. (but not include the first-offense warning). We thought it’d be interesting to see which of these options sounded more appealing, so please take a second to answer the poll below. Additionally, if you would like to show support for the first option, Yassky’s office has set up an online petition that’s pretty painless to fill out.