NewYork's Dirtiest: Stinkin' Sanitation Cops
According to the NY Post, Fort Greene homeowners are getting smacked by sanitation cops with $100 “dirty sidewalk” fines for s couple of slips of paper. We had our own run-in in South Williamsburg with a real gem of a sanitation cop last year when a neighbor from two doors down started hurling bags of…
According to the NY Post, Fort Greene homeowners are getting smacked by sanitation cops with $100 “dirty sidewalk” fines for s couple of slips of paper. We had our own run-in in South Williamsburg with a real gem of a sanitation cop last year when a neighbor from two doors down started hurling bags of garbage at our front door, mistakenly under the impression that we had been putting our household garbage in his cans. Mrs. B, baby in arms, stepped outside to confront the guy just as a sanitation cop pulled up. As the large man was screaming in her face menacingly, the cop, rather than try to do anything to physically protect her, starting writing her a ticket for the garbage on our stoop. After the neighbor finally backed off, Mrs. B asked for the sanitation cop’s name to act as a witness if she decided to file assault charges. The cop just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I didn’t see nuthin’.” And with that drove off.
Any other stories about run-ins with the sanitation cops?
City Play Dirty with Tix [NY Post]
There are a few important things that you you must understand. Sanitation workers only pick up the garbage. There are many reasons why they don’t take certain things
1. Paper must be tied up or in a pail.
2. Styrofoam is not paper!!
3.There is a size limit on the pail you can have. They will not take a 50lb 4ft pail.
4. Bottles and cans and paper are not the same commodity, that is why it is called recycling and why you recieve $25 summons.
5. When you live in crap areas with sloppy renters in everybuilding you get tickets for mixed recycling.
They can’t accept tips, as they can lose their job for it, if you throw it in the truck when they arent looking they will accpet it.
There are people home all day with nothing else to do then to find a way to get their sanitation workers in trouble. 75% of the time if you report them they will lose their job, their pension, and will have to find a way to support their family all because you had nothing better to do then to call 311 because they left your mixed recycling( which is your job to do) so you claim they took money from you and they lose their job. Sanitation workers are working hard to do 12 tons of garbage a day, while you go to your airconditioned office and sit at your desk, they work in the heat, extreme cold to make this city as clean as possible. As with other city jobs its all politics, when the people on top come down hard on the sanitation workers ( remember they are a union) they will do what they can to keep things the same.
There are a few important things that you you must understand. Sanitation workers only pick up the garbage. There are many reasons why they don’t take certain things
1. Paper must be tied up or in a pail.
2. Styrofoam is not paper!!
3.There is a size limit on the pail you can have. They will not take a 50lb 4ft pail.
4. Bottles and cans and paper are not the same commodity, that is why it is called recycling and why you recieve $25 summons.
5. When you live in crap areas with sloppy renters in everybuilding you get tickets for mixed recycling.
They can’t accept tips, as they can lose their job for it, if you throw it in the truck when they arent looking they will accpet it.
There are people home all day with nothing else to do then to find a way to get their sanitation workers in trouble. 75% of the time if you report them they will lose their job, their pension, and will have to find a way to support their family all because you had nothing better to do then to call 311 because they left your mixed recycling( which is your job to do) so you claim they took money from you and they lose their job. Sanitation workers are working hard to do 12 tons of garbage a day, while you go to your airconditioned office and sit at your desk, they work in the heat, extreme cold to make this city as clean as possible. As with other city jobs its all politics, when the people on top come down hard on the sanitation workers ( remember they are a union) they will do what they can to keep things the same.
Is there anyway to fight a sanitation ticket?
For those who think that they have been unjustly served. Maybe we can post the names of the sanitation pickup guy or enforcer/cops that has written the ticket on the boards here…keep a list of them and their rating somehow…keep them on their toes.
There have lots of news reports about how Sanitation workers have been getting stung for taking money. I am afraid to tip them because I don’t want to get them in trouble or for me to get in trouble. It is illegal for Government workers to take money and everyone has done it anyway. It makes sense to give your mailperson and your sanitation worker a gift of appreciation. But lately in the Sanitation department, there has been a crackdown. From my own observation, I find that this crack-down has embittered these guys(even made them paranoid), so they are more disgruntled and less likely to go the extra mile (or even in some cases, just do the bare minimum).
Brownstoner…please remove the two posts above…they have ruined a perfectly good thread.
The ticket blitz has hit Clinton Hill and I have appreciated all the comments above.
Still don’t know how to tip these guys without stalking for hours in the middle of the night but will somehow try. I think in general it is good practice and pays off…whether or not it reduces fines.
However, the arbitrary way that the sanitation enforcers can issue summonses without a way for us to fight (short of showing up in court) leaves me with a powerless feeling that I do not like.
IF this is the most corrupt of the agencies, I want to do something. Somehow.
The system itself is flawed. DOS issues the summons but then the Environmental Protection people collect the money and follow up from there. If you call the DOS to ask a question about a summons, they can’t help you and refer you to the DEP, for which they will not provide a phone number until you happen to speak to someone with a heart…or the moon and the stars line up in your favor. Even then, calling the DEP is not helpful because they tell you they have nothing to do with issuing the summons. Circular reference that goes no where. Who designed this? It needs to be fixed!
WE have the same problem over here in Gravesend . We are getting hit with summons every other week. Either it is for recycling ,with has nothing to do with us if bums go through our garbage and move the garbage from one pail to the next. Now we are getting hit with 100 fines for dirty sidewalks. This is a joke, we cannot help it if garbage is being thrown around from other people. We cannot be outside our homes 24/7 cleaning all day. I say we must join together and fight this crime. We are being taken for a $$$$$ ride.
Surely these sanitation police lack common sense. I live in a house in Coney Island and if you live there you’d know it’s not void of litter. It has been raining all week and I’m sure it’s windy as well. As soon as it stops raining, I get slapped with a ticket for having debris at my front area to which was not there the night before when it was cleaned (only at night since I work all day). I can’t be out there 24/7 with a garbage bag and a broom (especially if it’s raining) and it seems that even though it’s nature’s fault, sanitation thinks I should pay for it. I rather throw my 100 dollars into the ocean.
There are sanitation police and there are sanitation enforcement agents. The difference is like NYC Police to traffic agents. Agents give recycling summonses and dirty sidewalk summonses. Sanitation Police look for illegal dumpers and give them $20,000. summonses.
We got a recycling ticket when we were on vacation! Of course, the bag in question was not ours – it was our neighbor’s, who explained to the guy writing the ticket that the bag was hers and not ours and that it was on her sidewalk. The guy proceeded to write the ticket and put the little pink slip on our door. All the while, our neighbor was explaining that he had written down the wrong address and had the wrong house. Of course he didn’t give a rat’s ass! At least my neighbor paid me for the ticket, but this is just ridiculous.