EXCLUSIVE: Dirty NYC Street Fines Expanded Under New Bottcher Bill

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — The cost of running a dirty business is about to go up.

On Tuesday, District 3 Council Member Erik Bottcher is set to introduce new legislation expanding the hours that the city is allowed to issue fines to commercial properties for filthy sidewalks.

Currently the Department of Sanitation only issues fines during two, one hour inspection windows each day. Bottcher's bill would remove these restrictions and allow DSNY inspectors to issue fines while any business is operating between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

"This bill is going to result in cleaner sidewalks and gutters," Bottcher said. "In addition to being unsightly, littered sidewalks pose a safety risk for pedestrians, facilitate the pollution of our waterways, and exacerbate New York’s ongoing rodent problem."

According to the department's website, sanitation inspectors are only allowed to issue dirty sidewalk violations during the two, one hour windows but can issue fines for other violations all day.

"Making our neighborhoods cleaner is a shared responsibility, and every property owner needs to do their part as required by law," Bottcher said.

Commercial properties are responsible for the sidewalks in front of their business and 18-inches of the adjacent street, according to the DSNY. If inspectors find the area to be unclean, they can issue a $50 fine for a first offense and $100 for all subsequent offenses.

The announcement comes on the heels of a new, aggressive anti-litter ad campaign launched by DSNY, the first in over 15 years according to reports.

Bottcher has been on an anti-trash crusade since his candidacy for office, running on an ambitious 12-step plan for a cleaner district with ideas like trash containerization and underground pneumatic garbage tubes.

Since taking the seat of predecessor and former boss Corey Johnson, Bottcher has continued his trash-talk.

Last year, the Council member secured increased litter basket pickups in the West Village. His district also saw the city's first trash containerization pilot program (with results coming soon).

Additionally, Bottcher is a member of the so-called "Rat Pack," a group of Council members who passed a package of sanitation-adjacent bills known as the Rat Action Plan back in October.