Washington Heights has become a poop-covered dumping ground — and the city isn't doing anything about it, residents say.
Community Board 12 is beginning a push for "pet waste management stations" to be installed in all area parks. The systems would include a dispenser spitting out biodegradable bags to ease compliance with the city’s legendary “pooper-scooper” law.
But the Parks Department is crapping out on the idea.
"We don't currently have a plan for pet waste stations," said agency spokesman Phil Abramson.
Dog Owner Joshua Baker of Washington Heights says pet waste stations would go a long way to help residents clean up after their dogs.
Residents were disappointed.
"It is definitely a big problem," said Ebenezer Smith, Community Board 12 district manager. "The city needs to do something."
The idea has yet to make its way before the full Community Board, but City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Inwood) said he's open to hearing more about the waste stations.
"Pet waste in Northern Manhattan has been an issue for some time now and anything we can do to help curb it should be explored," Rodriguez said, adding he will consider how capital funding could be used around parks.
Residents along 173rd St. created a bag station to help dog owners dispose of pet waste. But it is sometimes empty.
Money might also be needed to restore public trash cans, which were once plentiful along Riverside Dr.
For now, the main effort against dog waste consists of signs posted by residents reading, "Your dog? Your poop! Please scoop," and "Scoop your poop."
Do-right dog owners say pet waste management stations would help, but the real issue is some residents don't care about their community.
"It has a lot to do with the pride you take in your neighborhood," said Joshua Baker, 26, who was walking his dogs Hazel and Tucker. "Some people just don't care."
Signs urge residents to clean up after their dogs.
Baker said he and his neighbors installed a dog waste station equipped with bags near his home on W. 173rd St. near Fort Washington Ave. where there's often a trail of poop.
Petwasteeliminator.com offered pet waste stations for as low as $69 to as much as $199. Abramson said there are none located in Washington Heights and the Department of Sanitation was unaware of any throughout the city.
Longtime residents say things were much worse before the 35-year-old dog cleanup law famously signed by then-Mayor Ed Koch, which carries a possible $250 fine. Rodriguez said he will look into increasing fines for repeat offenders and push for greater enforcement of existing laws.
But the fault lies not only with city bureaucrats, but with uptown residents themselves.
"People need to be responsible," Smith said. "If you can't be responsible and take care of your dog then don't have a dog."
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