Once-a-Day Sweepings Not Sufficient to Keep Area in Front of Building Clean

DOS issued a violation notice to landlord after its inspector found a large accumulation of scattered paper, plastic, and other items in front of landlord’s building. Landlord, who lived on the same block as the building, claimed that heavy winds and traffic blew the materials in front of her building, which was located in the middle of a busy block. Landlord claimed that she cleaned in front of the property on a daily basis. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined her $100. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord must show that sufficient efforts were made on a daily basis to keep the area clean. Required cleaning efforts vary by the type of building involved, the nature of the surrounding neighborhood, and the amount of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Once-daily cleanings were generally insufficient to show reasonable efforts to keep the area clean.

Buchnik: ECB App. No. 1600707 (8/25/16)