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City set to deliver fines to flier-mad restaurants

By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer
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August 4, 2008

Menus, circulars and other advertisements on New Yorkers' doorsteps could now drum up fines rather than sales as enforcement of a new law gets underway, a councilman warned Sunday.

Under the so-called "lawn litter law," property owners who post a sign saying they don't want the fliers can file a complaint if businesses don't heed their wishes. Businesses started facing a $250 fine on Saturday for each unwanted advertisement.

"For too long, homeowners throughout the city have had to endure the onslaught of circulars menus and a variety of other garbage and junk that have been dumped at our doorsteps against our will," Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) said at a City Hall news conference. "Homeowners should be able to say I don't want the junk."

To be protected by the law, property owners must post a 5-by-7-inch sign with lettering measuring an inch high, telling businesses not to leave unsolicited advertisements. If fliers continue to pile up, owners can send them to the city's sanitation department with a complaint letter, which can be downloaded off of the department's Web site or requested from 311.

Felder had sponsored city legislation last year to fine businesses littering doorsteps after his mother received a Department of Sanitation litter violation because she couldn't clear flyers off her lawn fast enough.

While the city legislation didn¹t move forward, he pushed for similar legislation introduced later in Albany, which was sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D-Queens) and Senator Frank Padavan (R-Queens). The state law took effect in late April but was not enforced until Saturday.

Even before enforcement, Felder said he's noticed fewer fliers dropped on doorsteps with signs posted. But not everyone is complying.

Mark Levy, of Ditmas Park, who attended the City Hall news conference, said despite his sign, a Kohl's circular appeared on his doorstep late last week. Levy, who said he can fill an air conditioner-sized box with the number of fliers he collects in a month, wrote possibly the first complaint to the Department of Sanitation yesterday.

"I'm tired of people dumping their junk on my porch and on my sidewalk," said Levy, who is a member of advocacy group Sustainable Flatbush. "It's bad for business, its bad for the environment, its bad for the neighborhood."

Kohl's could not be reached for comment by press time.

At the time the bill was introduced, some businesses said it would hurt their ability to find new customers.