About a week or so back we had a post about the ‘cost of poo’ and the various fines that people can levy upon others if they are caught.  Since then we noticed that there aren’t only various fines per department within the city, but also confusion as to what the various fines are within each department.

For instance, the NYC Parks Department uses Public Health Law 1310 to get a $100 fine for not cleaning up after your dog at Mount Prospect Park by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

However, the very same NYC Parks Department used Public Health Law 1316 to get a $1,000 fine for people not picking up after their dog along Shore Road Park in Bay Ridge. 

Oddly enough we cannot seem to find any supporting documentation saying that Public Health Law 1316 exists in New York and the Department of Sanitation can only give out of $250 fine if they catch you not picking up after your dog.

That said, the Department of Sanitation isn’t any better with their lack of confusion when it comes to fines.  If you are caught dumping along Shore Road in Bay Ridge you’ll get a $20,000 fine.

But if you’re caught dumping along the service road to the Gowanus Expressway in Bay Ridge, you’ll face only a $12,500 fine.  Neither sign sites a law stating that the Department of Sanitation actually has the power to give out such fines. 

While we’ve never heard of anyone receiving a fine for not picking up after a dog or for dumping, we cannot help but wonder just how much the people at the various departments are just making things up as they go along with their jobs.

It’s almost as if they just keep throwing spaghetti against a wall and seeing what sticks.