After a feces-free month in the recently manicured tree pit on First Street, the culprit (or culprits) strikes again!

On Tuesday, December 13, two dog droppings were found in the tree pit, which belongs to a co-op apartment building and was recently renovated by its residents and cost close to $2,000 to excavate the soil, put in Belgium blocks and a new wrought-iron fence, near the corner of Eighth Avenue.

The original politely-worded sign, which was put up by a co-op resident in the beginning of November, asked dog owners to start picking up after their furry friends, was removed. The daily problem, a month of finding dog waste in the pit, seemed to be curbed.

But two health hazards appeared this week, and the tenants of the co-op have jumped into action, again. 

One of the tenants of the eight-unit co-op apartment building, picked up the “orphan droppings” in a plastic bag, wrote and posted another sign on the tree and hung the feces up for all to see.

The new sign reads: Tuesday, 12/13 Please clean up after your dog.

The Canine Waste Law (Section 1310 of the New York State Public Health Code), which is commonly referred to as “the pooper scooper law,” went into effect August 1978.

It clearly states:

“Each person who owns, or controls a dog must remove any feces left by that dog on any sidewalk, gutter, street, or other public area and dispose of it in a legal manner.”

The dog owner may remove the feces and “carry them away with him/her for disposal in a toilet or place them in a non-leaking container or bag and deposit them in a DSNY litter basket.”

Although it is a New York State Public Health Law, the Department of Sanitation is the primary enforcer. But, they must catch someone in the act of leaving their pet’s waste before they issue a $250 fine.

Dog waste is not fertilizer and urine has a high acid content, which kills trees and plants.

A quick stroll up and down the picturesque street on Wednesday morning, between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West, revealed 15 dog deposits, five more than last month’s 10 different piles of canine waste.

In November, residents of the block were angry.

“My husband and neighbors said that they will kill the guy when they find him,” Virginia, a woman who has been living next to the co-op building for six years and believes there is one repeat offender, said last month. “But we all work early in the morning until late at night. What are you going to do, put snipers on the roof? That would be nice.”

No eagle-eyed snipers seemed to be keeping an eye on tree pit, which is easily the most beautiful one on the block, on Tuesday or Wednesday morning.

The sign that was posted last month was a kindly-worded and well written plea to the culprit or culprits to abide by the law and be a good neighbor:

Dear dog owner:

Almost everyday now, we find a little pile like this in our tree pits. It always seems to have come from the same dog.

Is that dog your dog? If so, we’d like to remind you that it’s not OK for you to let your dog go in these tree pits, nor is it OK for you to leave your dog’s waste in them.

Not only is it against the law; your dog’s waste doesn’t disappear by magic. We clean it up.

Please take responsibility for your dog. It doesn’t know any better. You ought to.

—Your Neighbors

Tell us what you think about dog waste on your property in the comments.