DSNY wants New Yorkers to report Sidewalk Slobs for its Hall of Shame
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City's Department of Sanitation is urging residents to report so-called "Sidewalk Slobs" who violate the law by leaving trash on sidewalks.
Landlords, shopkeepers and business owners are required to keep their sidewalks and gutters clean-a full 18 inches into the street. But so far this year, 311 complaints about dirty sidewalks and streets are up nearly 25%.
The agency has created a new portal to submit complaints about residential and commercial property owners.
Sanitation officials have already posted two offenders on the newly created online "Wall of Shame."
That includes a building at 130 First Avenue in the East Village and a Walgreens in Bedford Stuyvesant.
Both businesses have received summonses and fines range from $100 to $500 for repeat offenses.
"We'll do our part to hold them accountable, because cleanliness is a shared responsibility," the website said.
Many New Yorkers said they think the heaps of trash and litter are getting out of hand.
"It's disgusting, it really is. If they don't clean, they have to get a summons," said Lower East Side resident Joe Smyth.
Sanitation officials say they're trying to keep up with an avalanche of complaints. More than 48,000 summonses have been issued so far this year-for some $3.7 million in fines.
Additionally on Tuesday, the DSNY announced it is opening a second site to distribute free compost for New Yorkers. Click here to learn more and register.
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