They want to curb your dog.
The New York City Council on Thursday introduced a package of bills aimed at helping the scourge of dog poop that intensified during weeks of feces-strewn snow piles this winter.
The four bills, which will have hearings in the coming weeks, focused on both outreach and other ways to make it easier for dog owners to pick up after their four-legged friends.
Speaker Julie Menin reintroduced a bill she first proposed in 2024 that would require the sanitation department to regularly fill dog waste bag dispensers on or next to every public litter basket on city streets.
“We know that dog waste is an enormous issue,” the speaker said before the bills were introduced.
A spokesperson for the sanitation department, Vincent Gragnani, said the agency has previously made it clear it doesn’t have the resources to stock the bag dispensers.
“We need a community partner to maintain these. We don’t have the resources to keep these stocked daily, and our intention was that a local community group or the local Council member would take on the responsibility of keeping the dispensers full,” he said in an email to THE CITY.
Another bill introduced by Councilmember Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan) would create a pilot program to compost dog waste left at dog runs.
“I’m a big composter in this city, I really focused on making sure we understand that we have the opportunity to reduce waste and do waste diversion,” he told THE CITY.
He takes his mutt, Homer, to local dog runs and isn’t able to compost the poo — which he said is a waste.
“There’s a real opportunity to do something about ensuring that we divert that from trash and make it into compost,” he said.
A handful of New York City dog runs have composting for dog feces, but it’s not universal. And it can’t be disposed of in regular brown compost bins and must instead go into the trash, a sanitation department spokesperson said.
Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse (D-Brooklyn) introduced a bill that would require signs posted at parks reminding people it’s illegal to not pick up after your dog.
And another bill, from Brooklyn Democratic Councilmember Shahana Hanif, would create an educational initiative making sure New Yorkers know “it’s their duty” to pick up waste, she said.
“It’s very important to understand that, as a dog guardian, if I leave the poop, I’m adding to the dangers and risks of a public health issue,” Hanif said.
She and other Council members spoke out on social media during winter storms when human owners didn’t pick up after their pets.
It’s illegal to not clean up after your dog. The city’s “Pooper Scooper” law was enacted in 1978, thanks in part to the advocacy of Fran Lee, a New Yorker who had become obsessed with the public health issue of dog waste.
If caught, the fines are up to $250.
But it’s nearly impossible to ever catch anyone in the act, the city’s former acting sanitation commissioner admitted during budget testimony this year.
“The chances of someone not picking up after their dog while an enforcement officer is watching is very, very slim,” Javier Lojan said, adding that they even set up stings to catch people in areas with a lot of complaints — and came up short.
They issued just two summonses for failure to remove canine waste last year, despite many complaints citywide.
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The post Dog Poo in Council Crosshairs After a Filthy Winter appeared first on THE CITY – NYC News.
