The Sanitation Department wants to more than double the fine—from $100 to $250—for owners with empty lots that create neighborhood eyesores. The number of neglected lots cleaned by the city directly has plunged in recent years, thanks to budget cuts under former Mayor Adams.
The city is looking to hike penalties on owners of vacant lots who fail to keep them clean, citing a “raise in complaints” about dirty lots and adjacent sidewalks, according to the Department of Sanitation (DSNY).
The agency wants to more than double the fine—from $100 to $250—for owners with empty lots that create neighborhood eyesores, saying in a public notification Tuesday that the current penalty isn’t “enough of a deterrent” to get people to clean up their vacant spaces.
DSNY will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed change on Oct. 30…