Dog poop is everywhere, city sanitation officials acknowledge. But when it comes to ticketing offending pooch owners, enforcement officers may be barking up the wrong tree.
Javier Lojan, the acting commissioner of the Department of Sanitation, said during a budget hearing Monday that the department hears the complaints from New Yorkers about poop piles that emerged as the snow melted after the record blizzard.
But it’s nearly impossible to enforce the law that requires all dog owners pick up after their dogs on streets and sidewalks.
“Our enforcement officer would have to catch the owner in the act of leaving a pile behind,” he said.
Since 2024, DSNY has done at least two stakeouts in neighborhoods with a high percentage of dog poop complaints called into 311 — but barely gave out any summonses.
In 2024, enforcement officers spent three days in Mott Haven in The Bronx, only handing out one summons.
Last year, officers did weeklong patrols in Washington Heights, Harlem, Morningside Heights in Manhattan and Flatbush in Brooklyn – but didn’t give out any summonses during the blitz.
“The chances of someone not picking up after their dog while an enforcement officer is watching is very, very slim,” Lojan said. “So slim, that we issued just two summonses for failure to remove canine waste in 2025.”
The agency has done several ads and educational outreach to owners to remind them of their obligation to pick up waste.
“But really, every dog owner knows what they are supposed to do,” he said. “In consideration of their neighbors, they should do the right thing and pick up after their dogs.”
DSNY issued 8,999 summonses for dirty sidewalks to property owners this year, which included dog waste.
After recent storms, including January’s snow that was followed by record-low temperatures, officials blasted dog owners for not scooping up their dog’s poop.
“PICK UP YOUR F—ING DOG SHIT” Brooklyn Councilmember Chi Ossé posted on his Instagram page.
His colleague Shanana Hanif, who also represents parts of Brooklyn, posted an impassioned video instructing owners on how to clean up dog feces and put it in the garbage.
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.
Fines for not picking up after a pet – if a person is actually caught — are up to $250.
The once-in-a-decade snowfall didn’t help the city’s finances either.
The city uses a formula set by the City Charter to determine how much it allocates for snow removal, using an average of the actual amount spent on snow removal for the last five years, Lojan said.
Although it’s been around $80 and $100 million for the last few years, they had to request $100 million more during the January budget re-adjustment.
The City Council is in the midst of lengthy budget hearings following the release of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s preliminary budget last month.
New York City faces a budget deficit that the mayor says is now down to $5.4 billion – although Comptroller Mark Levine said the hole could be higher.
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