A growing number of companies — many of them based in New Jersey — are illegally placing used-clothing bins throughout New York City, blocking sidewalks and serving as magnets for litter and graffiti. The receptacles typically have signs that indicate donated goods will go to the poor or, in some cases, to legitimate charities. But, city officials said, the needy do not benefit from much of what is collected. Instead, the clothing is often sold in thrift stores or in bulk oveseas, with the proceeds going to for-profit entities that can be impossible to trace, or even to contact.
City law bans such bins from being placed on sidewalks and streets; they are legal on private property with the consent of the owner. Once found by Sanitation Department enforcement officers or reported by residents to the city’s 311 help line, an illegal bin is tagged and the owner has 30 days to remove it. Summonses are not issued, a department spokeswoman explained, based on the theory that those distributing the bins have factored any fines into the cost of doing business.
Statistics confirm what a trip through many neighborhoods shows. In the fiscal year 2010, the city tagged 91 bins and confiscated 10. In the fiscal year 2014, which ended June 30, more than 2,006 bins were tagged and 132 were confiscated.
A similar pattern has emerged nationally, according to officials at leading charities. They are alarmed by the misleading competition, which, they maintain, is undermining their own efforts.
10 comments:
No summonses? Based on what? How idiotic!
"For those owners who fail to do anything, their bins meet a fitting end: They are confiscated, taken apart and sent to a recycling company."
Attention Dept. of Sanitation, no warnings, no calls, just start with the above once they are reported.
Also, it's abandoned property so couldn't any scrap metal dealer legally haul these away if they choose and then chop them up and sell them for scrap? Perhaps there's not enough money to justify the costs but you'd think someone would at least give it a shot.
And the city cannot do anything about this considering how long it takes and the manpower to put one of these on the sidewalk.
I guess putting a bomb in this city would be a piece of cake.
Could the law be changed? Perhaps sanitation could just "tow" away the illegal bin like the DoT would tow an illegally parked car. The owner would have 30 days to pick it up (and pay the fines they owe) after which it's sold for recycling.
I don't know how you could fix the bin on someones property, but at least this clears up the sidewalks.
Summonses are not issued, a department spokeswoman explained, based on the theory that those distributing the bins have factored any fines into the cost of doing business.
Since the businesses expect to be fined, the city doesn't bother fining them? WTF? I expect to get a ticket if I double park, so by the above logic, I shouldn't be ticketed.
Not that the city is going to get rich off fining this phony charities, but why the hell not fine them?
Down to only 3 posts a day now, Crappie?
I intended to post as usual but there's not much to write about lately.
Sometimes there is so much crap in Queens , one doesn't know where to begin.
I did see an orange Sanitation department sticker designating for removal a bin across from the Salvation Army at 125th St & 3rd Av. Given that the bin is owned by Viltex GmbH, a just punishment would be an airdrop of them all at Elso Kloever Strasse 18 Lueneburg 21337. Well, maybe not, but it feels good to get the emotion out of one's system.
Occasionally these bins are placed in the parking lots of private businesses without the permission of the business. Many times the victims are chain stores, such as CVS. The scammers do this because they count on the manager of the store to think that the Corporate Office had given the okay. It's also done in parking lots that have multiple stores, everyone else thinks someone else has okayed it.
I had a discussion with the day manager of the CVS in Queens Village, then spoke with their regional office. No one had ever given permission for the two disgusting bins that were placed there.
Same with the bins in the Key Food parking lot at Braddock and Hillside Avenues in QV. Slapping a couple of "This is a scam, these are illegal bins!" signs (made from illegal "We Buy Cars" signs that I pulled down, no less!) on the front and sides of the bins with construction glue helped, and the bins were removed within a week.
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