Local Pols Targeting Sanitation Dept's Cash Cow
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…

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.
I’m in favor of a bill to require the public reporting of the number of tickets issued and paid for littering, compared with the number of tickets issued and paid for being victimized by litter.
Another question along those lines: How do you cite buildings throwing their trash out on the side walk on unscheduled days for trash pick up making it barely passable and a haven for rats. I am talking about Clinton avenue between fulton street and atlantic ave.
ITS DISGUSTING!!!!
We got a ticket for having some scrap lumber in our enclosed front “yard” that was not bagged. Who knew it was against the law to have leftover building material on your own property (not the sidewalk). We’re sure a neighbor snitched on us. Even more of a burn: stupid pet owners who get away with letting their pets crap on the sidewalk without cleaning up.
it would make sense to have the police give fines for littering but we know they are too busy doing nothing to help this quality of life issue.
I can’t say that around my area they ticket for this much. Once,years ago, I received one for construction garbage inside gate.
I wish they would enforce more. I see houses where they never ever seem to sweep or clean up,
garbage cans overflowing and uncovered, etc, etc. And I live in what I think is considered a ‘good’ area (Carroll Gardens/BoerumHill/CobbleHill).
Now that we’re on the subject…how does one request a trash bin for an intersection? I’m talking specifically about Halsey and Throop — very busy corner, and only one bin. ‘Ain’t right.
they need more enforcement on commercial streets, like 7th ave and PPW (south of 15th street), which have a lot of garbage flying around on the weekends. also, those city trashcans seem to cause more garbage on the streets, since they fill up and then the wind blows away the trash. the streets would be cleaner without them.
As for the occasional wrapper in front of people’s houses, that seems like an exaggerated menace.. these bills seem like yet another way for the pols to get on the homeowner’s good side, which sounds great during election time.
Finally, the trash situation in prospect park is terrible… the occasional worker walking around with a pick is not cutting it.
9:39,
That’s the point–we’re NOT supposed to avoid these tickets–just pay and pay and pay….
That’s why Mr. B referred to it as a “cash cow’ and why the present situation is such a disgrace. Of course the Mayor has lost of staff to pick up refuse in front of HIS house.
As far as I am concerned, any bill has to have a provision protecting homeowners from the extraordinary amount of street garbage generated by advertisers. What good is getting a warning notice from Sanitation in such a case or a post 5 ticket handout? The people on my block work very very hard to keep things tidy; we have one retired man who works for many of the owners who are not around all the time to take out garbage on assigned days and others are very meticulous about thier places. All in all people try very hard, but we are assaulted by blizzards of ad trash. We should be protected from this trash the way we are from unwanted telemarketing and mail advertisements. The American Marketing Association has a no call list and you can opt out of getting your mailbox stuffed with ads and catalogs as well. We think that while there is the occasional soda can or slushy the some inconsiderate passerby drops on the street, the majority of our tickets come from mother nature distributing the ad materials all over the street. One day, our block generated 1500 dollars for the city, which was a real hardship for people. And as you all know it is ongoing.