Prolific Upper East Side 'Can-Tipper' Is In Custody, Police Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A man who neighbors say has spent years toppling trash cans along an Upper East Side avenue has been taken to a hospital for evaluation, police said Monday.

The unidentified "can tipper" appears to be homeless and suffering from mental health issues, according to neighbors. Andrew Fine, vice president of the East 86th Street Association, has documented the man's exploits on Twitter, sharing photo after photo of sidewalks strewn with garbage and the expensive metal cans lying on their sides.

On Monday, two days after the Daily News publicized the situation, the NYPD's 19th Precinct wrote on Twitter that "the individual that has been tipping over garbage cans across the Upper East Side has been hospitalized and is being evaluated by medical professionals."

The NYPD was working with the Department of Homeless Services and elected officials to "ensure he gets the help he needs," police added.

This is not the first time that the man — who is 48 years old, according to the Daily News — has been hospitalized. On Aug. 13, Fine said the man had been taken in for psychiatric treatment, only for the tipped-over cans to reappear within days.

Damage from the toppled receptacles could run in the thousands of dollars, neighbors told the Daily News, adding that it had been going on for two years along Lexington Avenue in the 80s.

The neighborhood's two City Council members, Keith Powers and Ben Kallos, both called the situation untenable.

"Members of the community have been advised if they see the individual to [let] officers know," an NYPD spokesperson said in an email. Police did not respond to questions about how they hoped to prevent the man from toppling more cans.