NYC Man Fined $2,000 For Taking Discarded Garbage

NYC Man Fined $2,000 For Taking Discarded Garbage

wcbstv.com

It's something nearly everyone's been tempted to do at least once. You see someone else's throwaways on street and think -- that would look nice in my place.

But as CBS 2 HD found out taking it could end up costing you big-time.

"As far as I knew it was a piece of garbage sitting on the curb," Paul Lawrence said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I thought this was pretty ridiculous.

In my city, if you put something on the curb you have to notify the city to pick it up, or else they fine you for having it sitting there.

They do have weekly or monthly pick ups of recyclable things, they give you certain kinds of bins to place things in and set outside and they empty the bins.

I could see if you were taking something from a bin, designated for the city to pick up being applicable here. But definately not something you set out as trash that someone decides isn't trash.

Many people, homeless or otherwise down on their luck, or just people wanting to make an extra buck pick up scrap metal and take to junkyards. The city in my opinion is just being greedy, stopping people from taking trash, and then laying ridiculous fines on them.

$2000 for "stealing" trash is pretty ridiculous, especially considering if a person is "stealing" trash they probably don't have much of anything, much less $2000.

wcbstv.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

That's just ridiculous. Seems like the law was designed as an opportunistic money maker for the city.

[edit on 7/12/2010 by this_is_who_we_are]

"...temped to do at least once"? Ha! I do it quite often. I've picked up good stuff too. Even, just recently around my neighborhood, someone was driving around in the middle of the night towing a trailer and sifting through people's discards.

If discarded trash is considered private property , then why do cops not need a warrant to rummage through it?

Originally posted by this_is_who_we_are
That's just ridiculous. Seems like the law was designed as an opportunistic money maker for the city.

[edit on 7/12/2010 by this_is_who_we_are]

If you read the article, I believe it in fact states so.

These kainds of laws have more than one purpose.
They are reglarly used for getting rid of undesireables from a specific location etc.
The large fine is reducable by the sitting judge and it is his peroggative to set the apropriate sentence.
The point being 2000 dollars can get you considerable jail time if you cannot pay the fine.
Thus tpb can send you away for the duration and clear the neighbourhood of undesirable using several such statutes.
I wonder if theres a federal charge for transporting garbage over state lines?

reply to post by ohioriver


Atleast per NYC law, the trash is not public property and is city property. I don't think they'd need a warrant to search it.

Originally posted by this_is_who_we_are
That's just ridiculous. Seems like the law was designed as an opportunistic money maker for the city.

[edit on 7/12/2010 by this_is_who_we_are]

... because we all know that it doesn't cost a thing to run a city.

reply to post by ThaLoccster


man, you wouldn't believe the stuff they throw out in NYC. the two times i've been there, i grabbed things that were in the trash pile. Once i even brought home a very nice boutique folding clothes rack on the plane.
Guess i broke the law.

All the eco people should stand against that law. Taking the "trash" saves those items from the land fill.

As if that wasn't bad enough... the story gets weirder than just that.

The woman who's car he was driving (who had nothing to do with any of it) was also fined $2,000 for apparently being an accomplice to the theft due to it being her car.

Then her car was impounded.

I was going to say, if I was the owner of the unit he picked up, I'd run out to his defense and say I told him he could have it just to spare him. However, apparently that is what happened. A woman told him he could take it and the city still fined him and his elderly aunt and impounded the car.

The citizens need to raise holy hell about this, IMO. Like another member mentioned, it's just a quick money grab from the city. I toss out stuff all the time and people ask if they can have it. Some don't even ask and just take it from the curb- which I never thought was even a problem.

But a $4,000 fine ($2k each for the man and his aunt) and an impounded vehicle for a first offense is ridiculous.

There are enough times when something thats thrown out still works, even after being rained on/in (let it dry out) to warrent taking it. I have found many things with simple problems, yet alot of people think I'm crazy for taking stuff that for them, may as well have been run over by a tank. I just tell them I'm taking it for parts, seems to satisfy/confuse them for long enough lol. Alot of times people will throw good stuff out when they get something better as they think no one else will want it or they think having 2 single core 3GHz computers is a bad thing. Some people want you to take their stuff, others are possessive for some reason. I personally would never take any type of fabric/soft goods and or food, yuck.

If it were me, I would tell that cops I put the money on the curb, come pick it up.

New York City....The city is ruthless for any common good to even exist there any more. This Liberal Hub Dub going to be sinking real fast as the many who love their personal bank accounts are leaving in droves to avoid any more taxation. For the amount of taxes this city puts on it denizens, it does the least amount in services but instead imposes the most outrageous fines. Those taxes collected and the outrageous tolls are lining up pockets of unions.

For those who say it is city property, what about the fact that most cities contract out trash service and even dump sites?

This sounds like "legal" theft...just ridiculous...

Originally posted by AshleyD
But a $4,000 fine ($2k each for the man and his aunt) and an impounded vehicle for a first offense is ridiculous.

You have to teach these hoodlums a lesson before they make a habit out of stealing. Air conditioners don't grow on trees. They'll never forget that now!

Wow, I don't get it at all. Aren't people yapping on about going "green". Well, there isn't much "greener" activity than reusing products.

NYC would be fining me left and right. I used to take chairs and tables people would throw away. Most of the time they just needed to be shored up, sanded and painted. I confess that I used to paint scenes on them and do decoupage. Decoupage is decorating furtniture with paper cutouts and paint. (Example but not my work) I'd sell the stuff. I'm sure i'd just get thrown in jail though.

[edit on 12-7-2010 by antonia]

This is why NYC is the most backwards retarded tax you to death democratic city in the world. They write tickets like nothing there, The city is the biggest scam invented ever.

No right turn on red? Why to catch out of state tourists who normally do turn on red anywhere else.

Bizarre street cleaning schedules and parking schedules so you get tickets.

Next thing I'm pretty sure there will be a farting tax coming up

The city I live in you have buy a licence and pay a bond fee, for each city you pick garbage in, but to be illegal, it seems it should be posted.

I know of story a guy picking garbage in hollywood, found somthing worth a million dollars someone had thrown out, I heard of expensive paintings in New York but no one got fine.

But not only was he fined $2,000 by a sanitation officer who watched him do it, the car he was driving was impounded.

Sounds like a sanitation officer got butt-hurt when someone else beat him to the air conditioner.