In New York announced a hunt for dog feces and cops with phones

New York City wants less dog poop on the streets and fewer cops talking on the phone instead of working.

If you don't clean up after your dog, you'll pay a fine!

After receiving several complaints from his constituents, New York City Councilman Eric Boettcher has teamed up with the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to crack down on dog owners who leave their pet feces on the streets. New Yorkers who don't clean up their dog's feces can be fined up to $250. Pix11.

“The Poop Fairy doesn't exist,” said Boettcher, representing the Chelsea County, West Village and Hells Kitchen districts, during the launch of his initiative.

DSNY enforces the Poop Law and investigates certain areas where owners often don't clean up after their dogs. Residents who report these incidents may ask DSNY to monitor streets, sidewalks, and other areas such as open front yards next to a public sidewalk.

The law does not apply to guide dogs or service dogs assisting a person with a disability. According to the agency's website, DSNY also does not investigate complaints that dogs urinate on public or private property.

“Keeping New York City clean is hard work, and any New York dog owner who thinks they can ignore their responsibilities is barking up the wrong tree,” DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “Our law enforcement officers may not arrest people because of this, but they won’t just give up – they will issue fines.”

On the subject: A New Yorker has been looking for her lost dog for five years: now they are finally together again

Adams asks to inform on the police

The NYPD has increased the number of officers at subway stations throughout the city, but some of them can be seen talking on the phone rather than performing their duties. New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants passengers to take photos of these cops and send them to him.

“We are starting to take aggressive action to make sure the police patrol our subway system and not their iPhones,” Adams said. “In the next couple of weeks, you will see a visual difference in the work of the police.”

Adams, himself a former transit officer, said he used to patrol the subway himself. He said that it was not uncommon to see a group of transit officers hanging around the booth.

“I am disappointed with the performance of the transit police personnel,” he said.

Adams often checks the subway system in the evenings. Some officers complain to him that their colleagues are not doing their job properly.

“If you see a similar attitude to work, send me a photo and I will be at this station,” the mayor said.

According to Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch, officers were ordered to carry and use phones. They are used to document the work that officers do every day.

“Every form we have to fill out and every alert we get comes over the phone,” he said. "If there's a problem with cops using the phone while on duty, NYPD leadership should change policy and go back to pen and paper."