Sanitation regulation doesn't exist?

From CBS New York:

Six constituents of Queens New York State Senator Tony Avella have complained in the past few weeks of tickets for placing trash curbside outside of the sanitation department policy’s hours.

That policy says you can’t put the trash out any earlier than 4 p.m. on the day before collection between October 1 and April (5 p.m. other dates).

Avella says he can find no evidence that what he calls sanitation department policy was ever made into a formal regulation. That would require public comment, a hearing, and other measures.

“They never went through the proper procedures to change what is just an internal policy within the city to a regulation by which you can enforce a ticket,” Avella told 1010 WINS. “You can well understand why this procedure exists because otherwise every agency could say, ‘Well, today we’re making policy and we’re going to start issuing tickets.’ Well, you can’t do that.”

Furthermore, he says the rules or policies weren’t properly publicized.

Avella said his constituents who have placed their receptacles out for pick up day have received $100 fines.