By John J. Doherty, Commissioner of Sanitation
The property owners know the feeling: they come home after a hard day's work or back from vacation only to find piles of unsolicited and unwanted advertising material on their lawn. This unwelcome material, which the homeowner has no choice but to gather and pick up, can be more than an annoyance and an enormous waste of paper. As it piles up while the homeowner is away on vacation, this material does its job in an unexpected way, "advertising" the fact that no one's home, giving would -be robbers the green light to come in and help themselves.
Fortunately, help's on the way. In fact, property owners are able to fight back!
Saturday, August 2nd marks the beginning of the enforcement of the New York State General Business Law Section 397-A. alsp known as "the Lawn Litter Law," the new regulation allows property owners to post a sign in a visible area of their proprty, prohibiting the placement of un solicited advertising material on their property. The property owner's sign, which must be at least five inches tall and seven inches wide, must state the letters at least one inch in size: "Do Not Place Unsolocited Advertising Materials On This Property." The sign can be placed in visible areas, such as on lawns or front doors. SEE PRINABLE SAMPLE
In multiple dwellings, signa can be put up indicating how many units wish to receive unsolicited ads and where they must be placed.
If property owners receive unwanted advertisements, they can fill out a citizen complaint form against the unsolicited advertisements placed on their property, enclose the unsolicited ads with the complaint form, and mail the package to:
Director of EnforcementNYC Department of Sanitation
c/o Unsolicited Advertisement Enforcement
1824 Shore Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11214
Click Here For Instructions.
For additional questions or to obtain forms. property owners may call 311. Complaint forms are available for downloading them from the Department's website or here for 1-3 family owners and here for Multiple Dwellings
Advertisers found in violation of the "lawn Litter Law" will be subject to a $250 file, applicable to each piece of unsolicited advertisimg material.
Finally... a way to fight unsolicited advertising, and prevent those unsightly and wasteful piles of paper on your property!