Avella responds to Sanitation Commissioner

An open letter to city Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty (from the Times Ledger):

I received your Aug. 9 response regarding my correspondence on behalf of Ms. Palma Pollizzi.

While I appreciate your attempts to “balance” the issues involved, your response fails to address the fundamental point in question, which is the legality of the implementation of a city Sanitation Department policy regarding the placement of receptacles on residential properties the day before their scheduled collection.

I am aware that Section 16-120(c) of the Administrative Code requires residents to keep their receptacles stored in or at the rear of their buildings until the time of collection. I am also aware of Sanitation’s current policy, as stated in your “Summary of Sanitation Rules and Regulations,” under the “Refuse Collection — Containers and Disposal” section on Page 12, which states in part that “[r]esidential units may place receptacles out for collection on the sidewalk … no earlier than 5 p.m. the day before their scheduled collection, and no earlier than 4 p.m. from Oct. 1 to April 1.”

But as I have said before in correspondence with you, Sanitation implementation of this policy appears to be in violation of the City Administrative Procedure Act, and as such this policy is unenforceable and effectively void because it was not established under the necessary rule-making procedures set forth under CAPA.

Furthermore, Sanitation failed to fulfill the promises that were made to the City Council in April 2006 in terms of properly amending its regulations so that proposed legislation amending Administrative Code Section 16-120(c) became unnecessary on this issue of early placement of refuse receptacles.

As a result, Sanitation is improperly enforcing a “policy” and thereby selectively enforcing the lawful provisions of the Administrative Code, which prohibit the placement of receptacles on non-collection days pursuant to Section 16-120(c). In turn, I find it unlikely that Sanitation would address this improper agency conduct by issuing tens of thousands of tickets across the city for outright violations of Section 16-120(c).

Therefore, I am again requesting Sanitation cease enforcement of this policy and take the necessary steps to either properly establish it as a formal rule pursuant to CAPA’s requirements or abandon this idea completely.

In addition, I am reiterating my request for Polizzi for an exemption from the provisions of Administrative Code Section 16-120(c), given her status as a senior citizen who is reluctant to go outside during the evening hours.

Tony Avella
State Senator
(D-Bayside)

A little defensive, are we?

His approval rating has plummeted, so he demoted the EMS Chief and 2 Sanitation bosses. He also is rolling out new measures for snow removal. Fun in the above video starts at 9:45.

Every street plowed?

NYC: Every Street Now Plowed: MyFoxNY.com

New York City's Sanitation Department says it has met its goal of plowing every street at least once.

Spokesman Keith Mellis says not every street has been taken down to blacktop but the roads were passable by the 7 a.m. Thursday, the time the agency said it would have them plowed.

Mellis says Thursday's goal is to "keep working on the streets."

He says the department also will position snow melters throughout the city to begin clearing the streets of large mounds of the plowed snow.

He says "we're actively plowing and hauling during the course of the day."

He says the agency received a few calls of missed streets and would investigate.

Ok, send in photos if you find one that's not plowed. I have a feeling there are a number of them.

"The city is going fine."

From the NY Observer:

"The world has not come to an end," Bloomberg said. "The city is going fine, Broadway shows were full last night. There are lots of tourists here enjoying themselves. Two people told me they went to the theater last night and afterwards tried to get into a restaurant and there was a waiting list. I think the message is, 'The city goes on.' Our Sanitation Department needs some help, they need cooperation. If you do that, things will get better much quicker."

Bloomberg encouraged New Yorkers to take mass transit and to continue to enjoy the city. But the mayor may have had his eyes on the tax revenues that will be lost if too many people stay home. His message was contradicted by some of those tasked with getting the city up and running again.

MTA Chairman Jay Walder said that the subways and buses will not be up to normal capacity, especially the lettered lines in Brooklyn and Queens, until some time tomorrow. And Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said it would take at least 24 hours for all of the city's roads to be plowed.

Well thank God. My main concerns were the Broadway shows and whether tourists were enjoying themselves.

(At 8:30, Mr. Bloomberg makes up a new name for Juniper Valley Park...)

Being the boss' son has its advantages

From the Daily News:

Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty's son, John Jr., has been cited by his supervisors a dozen times from July 2008 through last June for improperly ducking out of work, records obtained by the Daily News show.

In each case, he cited a personal "emergency," but he was unable to document the circumstances that required him to get out of work.

In a May 23 call, for example, the younger Doherty's "emergency" consisted of him saying he wouldn't be in to work because he'd "lost track of time" and his "car was down," records show.

On four other occasions, the Rudy Giuliani-appointed commissioner's 48-year-old son didn't bother calling in at all, the records show.

On top of that, the son was arrested on Feb. 11, 2007, on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.

Cops pulled him over after spotting him throwing beer cans out of a car's passenger-side window, the Staten Island Advance reported.

He was issued a desk appearance ticket. Court officials said they couldn't find records of the disposition, and Doherty Jr. declined to comment.

Through all this, the younger Doherty has been able to keep his $62,000-a-year job, although his pay has been docked 14 times for a total of 128 hours during that period.