We should do this here!

From Metro:

...while these so-called “bandit signs” are actually illegal in Philadelphia, it’s a tough problem to fight. So Philadelphia’s Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet recently teamed up with 24 community organizations to form the city’s first-ever “Bandit Sign Brigade.” Over the month of June, some 8,000 illegal flyers were removed from the streets.

“We had groups representing every part of the city tearing these signs down,” said Nic Esposito, who is director of Philly’s Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet in addition to running an urban farm in Kensington and a local publishing house. “They find this a sign of disrespect, that you can come in my neighborhood and put these signs up and think that it’s totally fine to do that.”

The Bandit Sign Brigade amassed significant data on the location and types of signs being hung around Philly to aid the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections in tracking down and punishing the people responsible for the signs.

The city is also offering a cash benefit, paying 50 cents per illegal sign removed to eligible groups, up to $500 in funds for community cleaning and greening supplies.

To learn more about the Bandit Signs Brigade, visit cleanphl.org/illegalsigns/.

Trying to end a pervasive problem

From CBS 2:

The Department of Sanitation said it is illegal to posts signs or ads on poles, boxes, highways, elevated subways or similar public locations. The department said it does give out fines ranging from $75 to $300.

A spokesperson added that research has shown most of the companies use a prepaid phone, which makes it difficult to identify a responsible party. But they do also subpoena phone companies.

Avella said it’s not enough.

“Acknowledging the problem and not fixing it isn’t getting us anywhere. I’m willing to sit down with Sanitation and especially the phone companies,” he said. “We have to end this, because this is out of control.”

Grymes called five of the numbers on various signs, and someone answered at each number.

She got two hang-ups, but three others said they work for legitimate businesses that do offer money for cars and car parts. They would not consent to being recorded and would not give the name of the business or did not know it. Two said the sanitation department does fine them often for the signs, but that doesn’t stop them.

Avella said you shouldn’t take up the offers and the Better Business Bureau also recommends checking with them first to see if the business has any reviews or complains on file. That is, if you know the name.

The sanitation department said a special unit removes illegal signs unless it’s too dangerous or difficult, then the Department of Transportation does it. You can call 311 to report an illegal sign.

Andy should have checked with the Feds first

From the Daily News:

The Cuomo administration yielded to the federal government Friday and announced plans to replace the controversial “I Love NY” road signs that threatened to cost taxpayers a $14 million penalty.

Administration officials said the sign campaign had run “its useful course” and will be replaced by new tourism initiative in time for the summer season.

“Existing materials will be reused but, as the signs will be redesigned for the new campaign, we will consult with (federal highway officials) during this process,” Acting Transportation Commissioner Paul Karas and Thruway Authority Director Matthew Driscoll said in a joint statement.

The statement came a day after the Federal Highway Administration notified the Cuomo administration that it was withholding $14 million in funding because of the more than 500 signs, which federal officials claimed were an unnecessary distraction to drivers and created safety hazards.

Federal officials gave the state until Sept. 30 to remove the signs or forfeit the money.

Karas and Driscoll said the signs would be replaced by the federal deadline.

The ultimate John Ciafone property - and it's in QUEENS!

"Another Ciafone Masterpiece on Vernon Boulevard! They even took the time to give the building a great name City Skyline Water & Park Views. Huh? Sounds like a real estate description, not a building name." - anonymous

This really has everything, doesn't it? $120,000 in unpaid illegal sign fines, something resembling tin foil in the windows, and one of his famous canopies with a really ridiculous name on it. Also, the graffitied van in front is a nice touch.

Steinway Mansion contractor posts bogus police signs

Photos from George The Atheist

What an official no parking sign looks like:

Stop posting illegal signs!

We were walking around Juniper Park in Middle Village yesterday (9/27/15) and noticed multiple postings of flyers on the lamp posts and utility poles. There were ones for puppy sales, free chinchillas, yard sales and OctoberFest.

They are littering (illegally by the way) with these postings. The attached was for an Octoberfest at a nearby Church. There were literally over 20 of these flyers posted around the park. We noticed a few concerned people taking some down, but shouldn’t the Parks Department be on top of this?

I understand the need to promote these type of events, but there are neighborhood community bulletin boards (Silverbarn, Artis Pharmacy, Met Foods). Why litter our neighborhoods, especially an event that’s 2 weeks away!

If people continue to post these flyers, our street lamp posts will look like the attached image!

Signed,
ANONYMOUS

Company advertises illegally all over Fresh Meadows

From the Times Ledger:

State Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) is calling on the city Department of Sanitation to address illegal advertising throughout Fresh Meadows.

In a letter dated July 13 to Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, Rozic requested an investigation and immediate removal of unsolicited commercial ads posted across Fresh Meadows detailing sewer cleaning services.

Residents informed Rozic’s office of a sudden increase in ads being posted illegally on city streetlights and lampposts by Liberty Developer USA, Inc., a company in South Ozone Park.

The sticker ads listing a telephone number for a “24 hours sewer service” can be found in residential areas between 164th Street and 188th Street from the Long Island Expressway to Union Turnpike.

Jim Gallagher, president of the Fresh Meadows Homeowners Association, said residents were “totally disgusted” by the ads.

He said he thinks multiple people were involved and that it took place at night.

“It gives you an address of a two-family house in South Ozone Park, not too far from Aqueduct Race Track, so why is he coming all the way over here to advertise in that particular way?” Gallagher said. “It’s very hard for Sanitation to get them off because of the heavy glue that’s on the poster and when you take the glue off, off comes the paint. That’s no way of advertising.”

Liberty Developer hung up the phone when asked to comment.

Imagine our future...with a whole bunch of illegal signs

If Melinda Katz et al want to revitalize Jamaica, they can start at Hillside Ave and the Van Wyck where 2 corners opposite each other are loaded with illegal signage. I like the Landmarks billboard though. Queens sure has a lot to celebrate in that department.

Ridgewood roofer posts illegal signs in North Flushing

"Mysterious unwanted construction and roofing advertisements have been appearing all over North part of Flushing, Queens in tree lined and quiet residential parts of the neighborhood.

The DOT should be aware as well as any other pertaining authority to bring this "company" to the point of being fined and demand for the removal of these eyesores.

It's a terrible sighting when a person wake ups in the morning, check out thru the front window and the first thing they'll see is this terrible sighting.

Shame on these crooks who come in the middle of the night to deface our communities offering their unwanted services damaging the trees by using screws on trees and in some instances placing their ugly adds side by side on the same tree.

One is placed in front of 146-35 25th Rd., Flushing, NY 11354 and another in front of 151-07 26th Avenue, Flushing, NY 11354. The owners of these two houses should remove them and send them in a parcel to this shady company as a message not to mess with their street." - anonymous

Bad news for neighborhoods fighting illegal signs

From the Daily News:

A Washington Heights woman who was fined $11,000 for posting 300 flyers in her neighborhood to advertise her babysitting services will not have to pay the massive fee, a Manhattan judge has ruled.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten ruled that the city violated the constitutional rights of Yasmin Pujols, 45, by imposing such high fines.

Pujols, who does not speak English, said in court documents that she did not know the city’s administrative code forbids putting handbills, stickers or other printed material on city-owned structures.

So she attached her flyers to bus stop shelters, garbage bins, street light stanchions and other publicly-owned surfaces in the summer of 2011, only to receive 149 violation notices from Department of Sanitation inspectors.

Each violation with a $75 fine.

Wooten said the city violated the Eighth Amendment, which bars excessive fines.

Flyer overkill

"As we take our daily walk, we’ve noticed the sudden appearance of these “Lost Dog” flyers all over the neighborhood. There were literally dozens posted on street lamp posts and trees. Although we support the effort to find a loved lost pet, we do not endorse this illegal activity, specifically flyers on public property. This effort has polluted many Queens neighborhoods with these flyers. This “Find Mary Tyler” campaign has gone too far. It is being promoted on FaceBook and a “Fund Me” website is soliciting money and volunteers to plaster additional neighborhoods with these flyers. They have gotten several businesses involved, such as Petco, UPS, local pizzerias, etc. to help distribute these posters!

There’s even a map on Facebook boasting of hundreds of current locations where people have put up these illegal flyers! There are also meet-ups at businesses such as Petco to distribute more flyers on our streets (latest one at Petco, Woodhaven Blvd, Sat,4/4 @ 10am).

There are much better and legal ways to advertise searches for lost pets: neighborhood bulletin boards, local Queens newspapers, blogs, local TV stations like NY1,local churches & social clubs, etc. I know there is a NYC law prohibiting personal postings on public property. Is anyone taking any responsibility to oversee the removal at some future time?

Our questions are:

1) How long is this “campaign” going to last? It’s already been a month since the dog was lost. Are we going to see the continued proliferation of posters throughout Queens (and probably other boroughs) over the near future?

2) Why is the NYC Department of Sanitation not enforcing their laws or at least contacting the people responsible for overseeing this “project”

3) Is someone taking responsibility to REMOVE these posters after the lost dog is found or after a certain time lapse (3 months, 6 months, 1 year)? Suggestion: post a request to those who volunteered to put the flyers to also take them down. Lost dog owner: please request that on your Facebook page! You also stated that you have receipts of the monies spent from public donations. Please post them on your Facebook page so everyone knows this is not a scam.

4) Will the companies “helping” this effort also take responsibility to clean up our neighborhoods once the dog is found or after a certain time?

5) What happens to the excess money that’s collected and not spent? How about a commitment to donate it to a reputable animal organization (e.g. ASPCA, North Shore Animal, etc.)?"

- Anonymous

Are sign regulations unconstitutional?

From Capital New York:

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals will allow a constitutional challenge to city zoning laws that regulate what kinds of signs can be displayed in a person's window.

The order on Friday stems from a federal suit filed by Brigitte Vosse, a fashion designer who owns a condominium in the Ansonia, an apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Vosse constructed an illuminated peace sign to hang from her 17th floor living room window in December 2010. In court filings, she claimed that the sign was part of her opposition to war and American military policy abroad and that the regulations violated her First Amendment rights.

In September 2011, Vosse was fined $800 and forced to remove the peace sign by the city’s Environmental Control Board, which found that it violated a zoning regulation banning signs at heights of more than 40 feet. The E.C.B. refused to rule on the constitutionality of the law.

Vosse then sued the city in federal court, arguing that the zoning policy “disparately preferred some groups of displayers to others,” since flags, banners, and pennants are allowed at the same height, according to Zoning Resolution Section 32-62.

The case against the city was dismissed in November 2013 by federal district court judge Jed Rakoff, who ruled that Vosse had no legal standing to sue. However, Rakoff did not rule on the constitutionality of the underlying zoning regulation.

Friday’s appellate court ruling upholds Rakoff’s dismissal of the case, but a three-judge panel ruled that the lower court must review whether the zoning laws are in violation of the First Amendment.

John Ciafone has left the building

Hmm. It appears Mr. Ciafone has removed his visage from this Brooklyn apartment building.

Buh-bye!

He's still present on other residential properties, however.

Call for boycott of New York Sports Club of Forest Hills

"The entire neighborhood is shocked and furious that the neighborhood NYSC location has stooped so low. They are plastering the Forest Hills neighborhood with their “graffiti”.

Here’s a example - they plastered the LIRR westbound Forest Hills station with their advertising stickers. I have seen a bunch of portable signs sticking out from mounds of snow all along Queens Blvd.

Why do they have to resort to such low level advertising? I encourage the Forest Hills Garden Corporation and other local business and community groups to insist they remove these eyesores!

If they do not, then let’s boycott them! Encourage their membership to drop them!" - Anonymous

A leopard cannot change its spots

Here's an update from one of my favorite John Ciafone properties:

Not only have the signs multiplied, but now there's some new shadiness to report.

First of all, there may be some action soon with regard to the illegal sign complaints.

Then there is an illegal gas hookup that was discovered in 2006, but never followed up on.

But the latest bust comes due to a complaint about illegal excavation of the basement.

So that's why this dumpster full of concrete and dirt was out front!

Frustration over illegal signs

From the Queens Chronicle:

Street spam is all over Northern Queens and there’s nothing appetizing about it.

Also known as vertical litter, street spam is illegal signs glued to utility poles, bridges and other public areas. Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) wants something done about it.

In a survey made by his office, a total of 150 signs and stickers were discovered in Braunstein’s district. “They are insulting and trash our neighborhoods,” the assemblyman said. “And once they are on your radar, you can’t help but notice how many there are.”

He reported the locations to the Department of Sanitation and so far is happy with the agency’s work to remove them. Officials at Sanitation tell residents not to take down the signs themselves, but to call 311. The city then notifies the agency to photograph the location, remove the sign and try to fine the perpetrator.

But collecting fines can be problematic. According to Citizens Against Ugly Street Spam, a website dedicated to the removal of the illegal signs, many of the perpetrators use unlisted mobile phone numbers, called bandit numbers, and are hard to trace.

If the signs are placed too high or the adhesive is too strong to remove, Sanitation refers the locations to the Department of Transportation or the MTA if a train trestle is involved.

Dave Fischer, spokesman for Braunstein, said he is following up with the DOT on removals. Fisher added that the worst offender is “cars for cash” signs, “which are everywhere throughout the city.”

Braunstein believes Sanitation is doing its best to remove the offending signs with limited resources. He wants to lean on City Council members to get involved in the issue and possibly conduct a sting to locate and fine the offenders.

DSNY lax in removing illegal signs

From the Queens Tribune:

One civic group says the illegal signs that pepper the area are an eyesore and the group is calling on a City agency to find a solution for the problem.

The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association recently issued a report detailing the problem illegal signs have become in their neighborhood, and through many parts of the City, and are asking the Sanitation Dept. to improve its response to complaints about the signs and take them down faster.

The report, which was obtained by the Queens Tribune, describes the civic group’s experience with reporting the problem to the Sanitation Dept. for the past four years, including the agency’s response to the complaints when it has been logged into the 311 system.

The report is based on 164 service requests the WRBA has filed about the signs during that time period, reporting a total of 142 illegal postings.

According to the report, more than 63 percent of the 311 requests were not addressed properly. The group found that 47 percent of the postings that Sanitation claimed to have resolved were not actually addressed when the civic group went back to check on it. Additionally, seven percent of those signs were “partially addressed,” which meant a worker put a sticker or crossed-out the number listed on the posting, preventing people from calling the number.

They also said that 28 percent of their requests appeared to never have reached the Sanitation Dept. after filing it with 311.

On a recent walk around Woodhaven to follow up on the signs they reported to 311, WRBA member Alex Blenkinsopp found that the majority of the 17 signs that were observed were either partially removed or not addressed at all, even though they were told that the complaint had been resolved. There were also four new signs discovered while on the walk. They were previously undiscovered by the civic group and were not included in the 17 that were followed up on.

The signs are mostly posted on street light poles, mailboxes and pedestrian signs in high traffic areas like the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven. Some signs are also posted in residential areas, which, according to the WRBA, tend to take longer to address because it is not in a highly visible area.

Businesses to boycott

I saw the above front page story on the cover of this week's Ridgewood Times, and I said hmmm, signs are a problem throughout the city, so what can we do about it? Taking them down is one tactic, and reporting them to DSNY is another. But I had another idea: Compile a list of slobby businesses and let the world see just who they should boycott. I started a photo collection of ones I found in my travels, and I ask that you send me shots of the signs in your neighborhood as well and I'll add them to the album.

We can skip the lost/found flyers, the ones about yard sales and charity fundraisers. Let's go after the for-profit people who think city property, like lampposts and tree pits, are there to provide free advertising for them.


And here's the link to report them to DSNY.

Just a bit crazy

We can add this ridiculously placed illegal sign at 69th Street and Grand Ave to the "you've got to be kidding" file.

Liu failed to file paperwork to appeal sign fines

From the Times Ledger:

Former city Comptroller John Liu said along the recent campaign trail that he is fighting $525,000 in city fines for illegal campaign posters in his 2009 comptroller run.

But his lawsuit challenging the fines has sat idle in state Supreme Court in Manhattan since February 2013 with no clear sign of when it will be initiated, court officials said.

Liu’s 2009 campaign committee, People for John Liu, originally filed the lawsuit against the city in Brooklyn in 2012 and later transferred it to the Manhattan court in February 2013.

After the transfer, the lawsuit has remained in legal limbo as Liu conducted two campaigns: an unsuccessful bid for mayor and his current primary bid against state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside).

Once the lawsuit reached Manhattan, People for John Liu never filed a request for judicial intervention, which is necessary for the case to be assigned to a judge, according to court officials.

When asked at his Primary Night party why he had not filed a request for judicial intervention yet, Liu referred TimesLedger Newspapers to the attorney representing People for John Liu in the case, Martin Connor.

Connor said the lawsuit was originally filed in Brooklyn because Manhattan’s courthouse was still closed after Superstorm Sandy hit the city. He also said a request for judicial intervention had been filed in the original case before it was transferred to Manhattan, but refused to discuss the case further.

“We’re going to be reaching a settlement later this month,” he said.