Wednesday, February 17, 2010

City writing fewer dog poop tickets

From AM-NY:

The city has been scooping up fewer dog poop outlaws.

A year after jacking up the fines for dog owners who don’t pick up after their pets, the city was handing out almost half as many tickets, even as complaints continued to rise.

In November 2008, the fine for not curbing a dog shot up to $250 from $100to deter irresponsible pet owners from turning the sidewalks into minefields of poop.

In fiscal year 2009, the Department of Sanitation issued 580 fines, down from 903 the previous year. The higher fines were in effect eight of those 12 months.

While some speculate the threat of higher penalties have discouraged dog walkers from breaking the law, others say they see no change.

A spokesman for the Department of Sanitation, which enforces the law, would not say whether the agency believes the higher fines have been a deterrent.

The spokesman, Matthew Lipani, said there are 24 officers assigned to the K-9 unit, which also monitors for dogs off the leash and related violations. There hasn’t been a reduction in manpower since the fines went up.

“This summons is among the most difficult for the department to write, since our enforcement agents must see the dog owner walk away from their dog’s waste,” Lipani said.

The city has collected more money from these fines – the penalty went up from $50 to $100 on Dec. 31, 2007 – each of the last three years.

14 comments:

M. Poopburg said...

“This summons is among the most difficult for the department to write, since our enforcement agents must see the dog owner walk away from their dog’s waste,” Lipani said.
----------------------------------------------
No Shit!

Anonymous said...

Can you just have them walk up and down between 39th Place and 40th street on 47th ave In SUNNYSIDE QUEENS. The building is the whole block length.
In Just one day..Mr Police officer can rack up what they racked up all last year!..
This is officially is everyone in the neighborhoods dogs toilet. Its absolutely disgusting. I live on the block and am a dog owner and have yelled at people to respect themselves and their neighborhood.
I am tired of these people giving ALL dog owners a bad name...
.and while your standing there, you can issue some summons to the men that either stand on the corners drinking or now because its cold sit in their cars drinking all day only to come out and use the same building as their public bathroom.. Very classy! Thanks

Georges said...

When the Koch administration introduced this bill I thought it would never fly because enforcement would be lacking. I was pleasantly surprised that it did indeed get folks to pick up after their pets - a really good thing especially here in Queens.

But you still have a small percentage that don't pick up and play a little game to avoid detection and of course dirty public spaces. It these few that ruin it for other dog owners whom are diligent and of course you and your children whom encounter or step into the mess left behind by these folks. Raising the fine is only a good thing and I would like to stress that fines be written by the NYPD as well as enforcement agents to possibly get the non-compliant to adhere to the law.

Anonymous said...

ban dog ownership in nyc - end of story.

Anonymous said...

Much like the fines that go to people who dont shovel when it snows, this law is not enforced city-wide. They will troll park slope, upper west side, and SoHo, but they dont bother coming into queens for that kinda thing.

Anonymous said...

The pooper scooper law is very bad enviornmental policy. Dog waste is organic. All you need do is wait for a good rainstorm and it washes away. All of the paper, plastic baggies etc. that dog owners use to clean it up are harmful to the enviornment and contribute to global warming. All for what? Because some people are offended by the smell? Get over it!

georgetheatheist said...

Anonymous makes a good point. We can also ban flush toilets and save alot of water by mass crapping in the streets. Every block with a public latrine or at least a ditch.

Queens Crapper said...

Okay, I am guessing that you are either really stupid or a troll. The poop washes into the sewers and ends up polluting the river and bays.

Queens Crapper said...

Dog waste poses threat to water

Anonymous said...

Okay, I am guessing that you are either really stupid or a troll. The poop washes into the sewers and ends up polluting the river and bays.

How about "Stupid-troll"?

Babs said...

Dog feces - human feces - BOTH may contain harmful bacteria.

Just because something is natural and organic does not make it healthy!

The Ganges River in India has been a breeding ground for polio because of all the "organic waste".

faster340 said...

My wife and I pick up after our dogs and then when we get home we flush it and the "biodegradable & flushable" waste bags down the toilet.

Anonymous said...

My wife and I pick up after our dogs and then when we get home we flush it and the "biodegradable & flushable" waste bags down the toilet.

God bless you and your wife, you're 2 in 1,000,000. Everyone else who owns a dog sucks!

Anonymous said...

FED-UP, I live in Middle Village and I am sick of seeing dog poop all along the cemetery, on the streets today I almost stepped on a lad on my way to the gym we now have to walk looking down to make sure we don't step in any. I have two dogs and I always pick up after them. At night I bring a fashlight so I can see where my dogs poop. MY SUGGESTION TO BLOOMBERG IS TO MAKE SOME COMMERCIALS AND MAYBE PEOPLE WILL PAY ATTENTION.