[Voets]

This morning at 8:30 I received a ticket from an officer for a dirty sidewalk.
There was a tissue and a empty chips bag that blew down the sidewalk overnight. I sweep twice a day but can't be there all day picking up stuff that other people drop on the floor during the day. My front yard and building are extremely well kept and free of any litter. Unfortunately my Bed-Stuy blockis covered with litter everywhere. Has anyone succesfully fought a ticket by going down to the hearing or is it a waste of time and should I just pay the $100 which I think is a lot of money for something I cannot control and are not directly responsible for.
Please tell me your experiences.

[escap]

My parents got slapped with a fine because other people put recyclable paper into their garbage cans. They didn't bother to fight it (they're pushovers), so I can't tell you what luck you'll have on that note. You probably were the victim of a cop who needed to meet some kind of quota.

[bifteck]

I would say fight it. I got a ticket once for putting the trash out too early (by just 12 hours or so -- this still burns me up to this day), and thought I had a great chance of getting it overturned, except my landlord (for whom the ticket was issued, technically, as the owner of the building) couldn't be bothered to go down to the hearing office. So I ended up paying it all, plus a late fee. Sucked.

[homeowner]

You should fight it. If you are a first-timer instead of a repeat offender you should be able to get it knocked down at least a little.

[Ben]

you can fight it by mail although I think you need to get your statement notarized.

I had a recycling ticket overturned because it was my neighbor who didn't separate properly but I got the ticket.

[kiki_1907]

Thi shappened to my father too. he received a ticket for trash and he beat it. he had several neighbors write him a notarized statement saying that he keeps his front yard clean and always sweeping it . he got 9 letters from his neighbors. when he was in court he explained to the judge how he keeps his yard clean and sidewalk. then he gave th ejudge his letrters, all notarized. some of the neighbors who did not write letters came to court with him and testified in his behalf. i am not sure if you can do this. my dad lived on hi sblock for 40 years. i hope you are lucky.. It is a shame they do this , no one can be in front of their yard all day. it seems to me ths is more of a way to get money from the property owners.

[Guest]

fyi, check out:
http://www.therealdeal.net/issues/JANUARY_2007/1167676777.php

It's an article about landlords across the city complaining that sanitation tickets are on the rise.

[Guest]

A ticket for a tissue and an empty chips bag?

A TICKET for a tissue and an empty chips bag!

A TICKET for a TISSUE and an empty chips bag!?!?

Just say that over and over in the courtroom. They should be shamed into dropping it. Hello, quota. That's retarded, and if it sticks, then every single property across the Borough and beyond should also be ticketed. Every day, perhaps twice a day.

[Boygabriel]

[SunnyDay]

If you have the time to go and fight it, you should. Just go and tell them the story about how you sweep twice a day, and how you always keep your yard clean and stated that you never get any tickets. As long as you are credible, they will believe you, and take it off.

[Guest]

My building, too received a ticket for "scattered papers" on Wed morning in Bed Stuy. Every night when I get home I pick up honey bun wrappers, ho ho wrappers, bbq chip wrappers, candy wrappers, chicken bones, etc etc. I even pick up all trash on the sidewalk in front of houses four or five doors down in each direction. It's disgusting and foul. Most of my neighbors sweep and keep the area clean, but the trash piles up at an impressive clip day in and day out. Cops should write littering tickets to the groups of youths who indiscriminately throw trash all over the street like unruly animals. Fight the ticket. My landlord will.

[Guest]

I've protested a ticket to no avail, despite the fact that I live on a corner, there is a city trash can on that corner and dozens of schoolkids walk by on a daily basis throwing their crap around. Unfortunately, the law was obviously crafted for businesses and it makes no sense for a residence. It's basically a law that your area has to be clean during two specific hours of the day, regardless of how clean it really is.

I suggest you notify Letitia James, who was very responsive when I talked to her and who is actively working to change the law so it makes sense.

[voets]

You'd think that a sanitation cop would look at the state of the building itself to make a decision to ticket or not. Most front yards are strewn with trash for weeks on end. Obviously they wont sweep twice a day. If your building looks clean, chances are that you take care of your sidewalk as well. Everybody knows that a chips bag just blows by in the wind and I can't be responsible for that.

[hill38]

That is bananas. Fight it if you can spare the time & energy to do so, Voets. Even if you lose, it'll be on the record somewhere. It's not right.

[BIG D]

Hey I got a ticket for disposing my trash in front of an abandoned building. Went to court with my 6 month old son and explained to the judge "Now why in the Hell would I move my trash to another building when i have trash pickup right here?" Told em the ticket should be cancelled on the grounds that 1) some homeless person moved my trash, 2) my trash was left in the receptacle that my landlord provided so at that point, transfer of ownership goes to the landlord and he should have received the ticket/fine, 3) Why in the hell would I carry my trash 5 blocks away from my house???? Got a notice in the mail of the ticket being cancelled. Do it in person works best.

[Guest]

Today they were out at 7:30 am with 2 cars going through peoples black trash bags checking for recyclable items. Many people got tickets, but then again this is something you can control yourself as opposed to the wind blowing trash on your sidewalk while you're at work.
Why penalize homeowners, let the bodega owners pick up the tab for giving paper and little black bags for every 25 cent chip bag they sell.

[stacey]

Recently I saw the Sanitation police giving tickets to a neighbor of mine around the corner from where I live. I couldn't figure out why they were writing a ticket because all the garbage was neatly placed outside for pickup, and the front of the house looked clean. So I took a picture with my camera phone. That evening I left a note on the owners door explaining that - I saw them get a ticket and as a homeowner myself, could not figure out why, so I took a picture of it. The owner called me and thanked me so much because the ticket was for too many leaves and debris on the sidewalk. I emailed him my picture and he called to thank me a couple weeks later and explained that without that picture he would not have been able to prove his case.