{"id":321482,"date":"2026-08-14T18:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T18:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/321482\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T18:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T18:26:10","slug":"the-scoop-on-poop-city-council-approves-bills-aimed-at-getting-new-yorkers-to-clean-up-after-their-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/321482\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018SCOOP\u2019 on poop: City Council approves bills aimed at getting New Yorkers to clean up after their dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The City Council on Thursday took action to battle the scourge of dog owners not doing their \u201cdoo-ty\u201d of cleaning up poop left on city streets and in parks by their canine pals with its passage of the \u201d Safe and Clean Outdoor Ownership Practices (SCOOP) Act.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The four-bill package is designed to encourage dog owners to pick up their animals\u2019 waste rather than let them do their business and leave the feces for unwitting pedestrians to step in.\n<\/p>\n

The measures would require the city to make dog waste bags publicly available;<\/a>\u00a0educate the public on the health risks<\/a> of not cleaning up their dog\u2019s poop; launch a pilot program<\/a> to form volunteer groups charged with clearing canine feces from dog runs and composting it; and post signs in parks reminding<\/a> New Yorkers of the rule forbidding them from not cleaning up after their dogs.<\/p>\n

The package will now go to Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his signature.\n<\/p>\n

City Council Speaker Julie Menin, during a Thursday news conference before the 51-member council\u2019s vote, said the SCOOP Act is about \u201ccreating a safer, cleaner environment in communities all across New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were over 2,000 [311] complaints about dog waste just this year alone,\u201d the speaker said. \u201cThis is an increasing problem, and so the council is now acting to address it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crap-load of dog poop-related 311 complaints that Menin referred to, 2,926 through Aug. 13, is already 10% higher than for all of last year, according to the council. The council members introduced the bills following a frenzy of social media posts highlighting dog poop scattered across the city streets after large piles of snow left by the long and frigid winter had melted.<\/p>\n

Stepping up dog poop enforcement<\/p>\n

Complaints are on the rise despite owners facing up to $250 fines<\/a> for leaving their dog\u2019s waste on the street.<\/p>\n

\"dogsThe crap-load of dog poop-related 311 complaints that City Council Speaker Julie Menin referred to, 2,926 through Aug. 13, is already 10% higher than for all of last year, according to the council.Photo via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Menin said the council determined that the legislative package would be a better solution than raising the fine amount because it is difficult for the city Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to enforce the fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what the fine was, it was not deterring conduct because there was very little to no enforcement,\u201d Menin said. \u201cThere was not enough enforcement staff to actually go out there\u2026You have to actually catch someone in the action and that can be very challenging to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

One bill in the package, sponsored by Menin herself, requires DSNY to install and regularly fill dog waste bag dispensers on at least 1,200 trash bins throughout the five boroughs. Menin said the dispensers will be placed on litter baskets in areas with the highest concentration of dog waste complaints.<\/p>\n

Another measure would mandate the city\u2019s Health Commissioner and the Department of Transportation (DOT) conduct a campaign informing New Yorkers about cleaning up after their dogs and the public health risks of failing to do so.<\/p>\n

City Council Member Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn), the bill\u2019s sponsor, said dog waste is both a \u201cserious public health hazard and environmental hazard.\u201d The risks of leaving dog waste on the street include the spread of harmful bacteria and parasites as well as the pollution of waterways, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile many New Yorkers know they\u2019re supposed to pick up after their dogs, not everyone understands the public health consequences when they don\u2019t,\u201d Hanif said. \u201cThat\u2019s why this bill takes an important step, educating New Yorkers about why picking up after our pets matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

A third piece of legislation would direct the city Parks Department to stand up a pilot program under which volunteer groups would be charged with removing and composting dog waste from dog runs in public parks. At dog runs, the groups would specifically install dog feces collection bins and stock them with compostable bags.<\/p>\n

Composting dog poop aims to cut down on the greenhouse gases the waste produces by diverting it from landfills and reusing it as soil, said Council Member Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan), the bill\u2019s sponsor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of wins in making sure we reduce our landfill,\u201d Epstein said. \u201cWe empower people in dog runs to effectuate a plan, and we provide better soil for New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the final bill in the package, sponsored by Council Member Mercedes Narcisse (D-Brooklyn), the Parks Department would have to post signage throughout parks reminding dog owners they must clean up after their pets and the penalties for neglecting to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn plain, simple language: pick up after your dog, or pick up your sh*t, here is the fine if you don\u2019t,\u201d Narcisse said. \u201cMost dog owners already do the right thing. \u2026 This bill\u2019s for the ones counting on nobody seeing them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The City Council on Thursday took action to battle the scourge of dog owners not doing their \u201cdoo-ty\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[37503,57452,44479,121111,59998,121112,22925,9,24,55,54,56,14182,98959],"class_list":["post-321482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-city-council-speaker-julie-menin","tag-council-member-harvey-epstein","tag-council-member-shahana-hanif","tag-department-of-sanitation-dsny","tag-dog-poop","tag-dog-runs","tag-mayor-zohran-mamdani","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-parks-department","tag-scoop-act"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}