The number of violations of the “pooper scooper” law — which carries a $250 fine for those who don’t clean up after their dogs — are the highest in the Bronx and Queens, DNAinfo reports. Bronx residents were cited for breaking the law 252 times in the last two years, which Queens followed with 68 and Brooklyn with 63.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. had harsh words for owners who fail to remove their dog’s excrement. “We have urged the Department of Sanitation to increase enforcement in The Bronx, and it’s clear that those efforts are making an impact,” he told DNAinfo. “Dog waste is disgusting and the people who do not pick up after their dogs are just as disgusting.”
The problem is a hard one to enforce, as an officer must witness the crime in order to issue a fine for it. Complaints are much more frequent than fines, and Queens topped the list in that category:
Queens had the highest number of complaints over the past four years with 1,409 and Maspeth was the ZIP code with third most complaints in the city.
Rounding out the top 10 were Parkchester and Wakefield in the Bronx, with 109 and 94 complaints respectively, East New York in Brooklyn with 84, the Bronx’s Bedford Park with 80 and Ridgewood in Queens with 77.
In Fort Greene, residents are taking matters into their own hands. The South Oxford Street Block Association has initiated a “Dog Walkers Hall of Shame” campaign, putting out a call for locals to videotape or photograph violators and upload the evidence to the internet. (Image: CrossFit Counterculture)
