Move over rats, there’s a new eyesore stressing out New Yorkers: piles of puppy poop.
The City Council is looking to do something to get rid of the smelly sight. On Wednesday, the Council’s Sanitation Committee received a bill that would require the Sanitation Department (DSNY) to step in and help New Yorkers curb their dogs properly.
City Council Member Julie Menin (D-Manhattan) introduced the bill, dubbed Int. 0281-2024, which would require the DSNY to install dog-waste bag dispensers on public litter baskets in all the boroughs to help alleviate the city of its crappy situation. The bins would be affixed to litter baskets and packed with clean bags that dog walkers can use to pick up the waste and place in the trash.
Danielle Avissar, an Upper East Side resident, is leading the charge on the discharge along with Menin. During the committee meeting, Avissar said she’s “sick and tired” of New Yorkers not curbing their dogs.
“There are irresponsible pet owners that are not taking care of their animals, just leaving dog waste all over the place,” she said. “It really degrades our neighborhoods. We’re constantly looking down, we can’t look up at the buildings and appreciate the beauty around us. I’m constantly telling my kids to dodge buckets of waste that we see on the street.”
Another Manhattan resident said she constantly sees “numerous instances” of dog waste when she’s out with her toddler.
“This waste is not just unsightly,” she said. “It frequently ends up on the wheels of my child’s stroller, an issue that becomes distressing once it is inadvertently carried into our home.”
A growing problem since COVID pet boom
Avissar blames the increase of poop piles on the mass numbers of people who adopted dogs during the pandemic.
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“It’s the post-COVID owner boom,” Avissar said. “Most are doing it [walking their dogs and not picking up after them] late at night or early morning when no one is watching.”
If put into law, the bill would require each of the city’s 23,000 public waste baskets to have dog waste dispensers attached on the outside for dog owners to place their pets’ waste.
City Council to dog owners: It’s your ‘responsibility, not an option’
Menin said the dog waste problem is a matter of public health. She added that a public health campaign is part of her bill.
Although there were no members from the city’s health department at the meeting to comment, pet waste adds “harmful bacteria and nutrients to local waters when it’s not disposed of properly,” according to the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency.
“It’s critical to have our city act and inform dog owners that it is their responsibility — not an option — to pick up after their dogs,” the council member said. “As was done in the 1970s, we need culture change to make sure dog owners scoop the poop.”
Avissar is not the only New Yorker advocating for better dog waste cleanup. According to DSNY, there were more than 2,300 calls to 311 about dog waste in 2023.
DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch, however, is skeptical that dog-waste bins are practical when attached to often-moved street waste baskets.
“Given the dynamic nature of waste disposal, that the sanitation worker physically lifts and puts down the basket to empty it, litter baskets are not a practical place to affix a dog-waste bag dispenser,” she said, recommending that the bins go on other “street furniture” that does not move, such as utility poles or benches.
When it comes to enforcing law of curbing dog waste, according to Menin, city data shows that 18 tickets were issued in 2022 over dog waste, down from 72 2019.
