illegal dumping

You can try to fight it but odds are high you will lose

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 10:12 AM

I wouldn't be that defeatist...it takes time to fight these but you can wear them down. We presented written statements from our neighbors sbout how me keep our front clean and got the bogus ticket dismissed.

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 10:20 AM

10:20 you successfully used the one defense that is accepted: proving that you regularly clean your sidewalk.

If they ticketed for trash someone else dumped that defense does not work.

Even if you can prove if it was someone else's trash it is still on your property.

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 10:26 AM

Someone illegally dumped in front of our house. We called the DOS and they took note of it, and a special crew even came by to pick up the garbage. And they were able to issue a ticket to the person who dumped—they were dumb enough to leave and IKEA box with their name and address on it.
I don’t know what you would do in your situation since you don’t know exactly who did it.
Good luck!

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 10:30 AM

Do as 10:30 says, at least try to call DOS and report it's not yours. Also do go through the bags because there might be a receipt or some mail or a note in it somewhere that says the name or address of the person who dumped it there. Whether that's the homeowner or the contractor.

Also - even if you still have to pay the fine to the city because it's your house, you can and should ask the neighbor to be reimbursed the cost of the fine. Just save the receipts or notes or whatever you found in the garbage that was dumped in front of your house, as evidence. If they refused you could take them to small claims court to get the money.

Posted by: guest at May 24, 2008 8:07 PM

I'm all for fines when they are given to people who do not contribute to keeping their area of the street clean, but fines have just become a revenue raising exercise. I pick up the rubbish not just in front of my home but all the way down the street. There is an apartment building at the end of the street that leaves its bin permanently out with the lids off. I guess that if they were fined they would take their bins in. The wind comes, and to be fair they clean what rubbish is left in front of their building, but not the rest of the street. I get fined for their rubbish if it settles in front of my home. Fighting it didn't work for me.

Posted by: guest at May 25, 2008 6:57 PM

Of course you can fight it. I did, and I won after a hearing.
Just follow the rules stated on the ticket regarding how to appeal. You will get a hearing in downtown Brooklyn before a Administrative Law Judge. You can bring in any witness, cross examine the city's people, etc.
It took me two hearing dates, over a period of many months, before I won.

Posted by: guest at May 27, 2008 7:26 AM