Councilman Erik Bottcher’s proposal would hurt business owners by fining them for not keeping the front of their businesses clean all day. So far, one law requires property owners to clean up to 18 inches into the street and is penalized by the custodial department, within a two-hour daily window.
Councilor Erik Bottcher is the one who has proposed the measure
The new legislation would extend the mandate from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., or the business hours established by the merchant.
If your business is open 24 hours you have to clean the sidewalk and drains in front of your business, or else you could be fined.
According to the councilman for Manhattan’s third district, the bill will result in cleaner houses and sewers.
In a statement, he said that in addition to being unsightly, litter-filled sidewalks pose a risk to pedestrian safety, facilitate contamination of waterways and exacerbate the ongoing rodent problem.
In Jackson Heights Roosevelt Avenue is lined with businesses on both sidewalks, where a plan recently came into effect to have street vendors put their trash in a rat bin in one more effort for city sanitation.
A resident of the neighborhood thinks about the measure:
“I don’t know if they are the business owners, but suddenly, more cars? I don’t know, collection, because businesses have an obligation to take out their dirt and all their things that they leave behind from the day, right?
Of course, this is only a proposition; it needs to be taken to the municipal council and there be approved by vote.
