Landlord Claims Too Few Garbage Cans on Street

The DOS issued a violation to landlord for not cleaning 18 inches into the street in front of his building. Landlord claimed that the litter in question didn't come from his building, that the neighborhood had heavy pedestrian traffic, and that there were no city litter baskets in the area. The ALJ found that landlord didn't use reasonable efforts to keep the gutter clean and fined landlord $50. Landlord appealed, and the ECB dismissed the appeal. Landlord didn't use reasonable efforts to clean, given the heavy traffic and the fact that he cleaned the gutters only three times a week. Even if the city wasn't meeting its own sanitation obligations, that didn't relieve landlord of his obligation to use reasonable efforts to keep the curb clean.

[City of New York v. Selby: ECB App. No. 9614 (10/30/91)]. 2-page document.