Landlord Made Reasonable Efforts to Keep Tree Pit Clean

DOS issued a violation notice to landlord for failing to keep the area in front of a building free from debris, after finding a large accumulation of scattered ashtray contents, bottles, napkins, paper, and wrappers around a tree pit in front of landlord’s building. Landlord claimed that his mother lived in the building and cleaned the front area, including the tree pit twice daily. Pedestrians dropped litter there, and the Parks Department had recently enlarged the tree pit, removing concrete and replacing it with mulch. This made the area difficult to sweep. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $100. Landlord appealed and won. ECB found that landlord made reasonable efforts to keep the area clean. Landlord offered credible testimony that his mother cleaned the area daily at 7:30 a.m. and at 2:30 p.m.

Gong: ECB App. No 1600326 (6/30/16) [2-pg. doc.]