Re: [UC] Trash nazis and renters

[Glenn moyer]

Yes, I agree about the repeat offenders.  I photographed this for a consecutive month (2/2008-4/2008) around the "student ghetto," 41st and Pine.  There was no recycling, trash was put out early (over 1 day on holiday week), and huge amounts (50-75 bags) at a single spot nearly blocking the sidewalk.  This was each consecutive week all around the area. I engaged UCD during that month to discover how their "worst offenders" list worked.  (UCD refuses to explain their involvement with the trash tickets except that they "share" information.)  I pulled over a few of the UCD street cleaners and they got their supervisor.  I wanted to see if they would call in these worst offences.   To my surprise, they knew nothing at all about a worst offenders list and said they couldn't call it in!!!  ( We've probably always thought that some guilty parties were being written down in their little notebooks.  I thought that in addition to the bogus tickets, these street cleaners were reporting some of the real offences.  I was wrong to assume that.) We called Dexter, the chief, and Chris Kingsley who came immediately to the corner.  I pointed out that their boss, executive director Lewis Wendell, had been quoted in the paper revealing this relationship with the city's ticketing and a worst offenders list.  (The worst offenders list was first reported on this public listserv). Dexter also refused to call in the violations which were visible in all 4 directions.  He would say no more except that the worst offenders list didn't work that way!!!  Consider all of this, if the worst offenders aren't being reported on the spot by the UCD street people, how indeed does the list work and who actually compiles the list????? How can trash violations be recorded as a list of addresses when the actual violation is not being witnessed by the city official responsible for writing the tickets????  How can this information be transfered every few days or once a week and be legal????  Doesn't it become an address hit list with nothing to do with trash???   I started getting these bogus tickets in 2003.  The corporate landlord dominating the area around 41st and Pine seems to be part of the permanent board at UCD.  The last time I looked at 4 PM, the day before trash day, nothing had changed about the repeat offences. Ann, clearly there is unequal enforcement and no fear, by some, of equal enforcement in this constituency.  And we have never gotten a straight answer about the relationship between UCD and the bogus tickets we are receiving.  I've heard that some people receive constituent services when they receive these bogus tickets.  But I took this to the mayors office of complaints and had my letter forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Sweeps, leading to a dead end.  I also spent months sending e-mail, phoning, and visiting councilman Blackwell's office, because a group of us wanted to work proactively with our elected officials to solve this problem.  It was a tremendous waste of time and energy because her staff would never respond!  Everything about this local "enforcement" is wrong.  The rest of the city seems to be similarly plagued with the cities pathetic lack of concern for doing a Sweeps program fairly.  But there is something terribly wrong with this unequal enforcement here in the district! Thanks for adding your experiences, Glenn -----Original Message----- From: Ann Mayer Sent: Jun 10, 2009 10:37 AM To: Glenn moyer Cc: univcity@list.purple.com Subject: Re: [UC] Trash nazis and renters There is something truly perverse going on.  People who are NOT creating messes with their trash get ticketed.  (Like me -- once getting a ticket and fine for having "litter" on my front yard fully SIX MONTHS after the alleged offense.)  But, repeat offenders who regularly pile up heaps of garbage in front of their buildings are apparently not being fined, since they do this over and over again.  Week after week I find myself having to walk around piles of unsightly garbage mounded up on local sidewalks.   I walk to and from work every day in this 'hood, taking different routes.  On many blocks, the trash is THROWN out, and I mean THROWN out, in heaping piles. It is not in any containers, it is not bagged. The loose garbage and trash rolls around, often blocking the sidewalk, and if the day is windy, it flies away and gets spread about.    This is interesting, because these are REPEAT offenders.  Week after week they are creating unsightly messes on trash day.  This they could not be doing, I think, if tickets were being given out in any systematic, consistent way.  Are the REPEAT offenders  bribing the people who give out tickets?  I wonder . . .   In any case, the tickets are NOT serving the ostensible purpose of keeping the area tidier -- probably because the worst offenders have figured out ways to game the system.   Ann         On Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 6:51 AM, Glenn moyer <glen...@earthlink.net> wrote: Neighbors, This morning I'm forced to the bureau of administative adjudication aka Dept. of finance to respond to the trash nazis.  This time, three or more tickets were written against the same rental property before I received the first notice 5 months late via mail. Once I had tenants who did violate known trash rules, but not the ones being ticketed.  I saw previously at municipal court that these bogus tikets are also driving wedges and causing conflicts between tenants and their landlords for no good reason.  Those who do not understand that the trash nazis have absolutely no real standards or accountability find themselves trying to fix blame.  (I've also heard neighbors express suspicions of each other.) The last poorly written ticket I received indicates trash overflowing without lid.  My tenants have an excellent track record of placing their apartment trash in approved bags.  They place these approved bags in trash cans at the side of the house.  I have seen that on some occasions the top trash bag is visible above the line of the can.  My tenant, who I've known for nine years and who has lived in the building for 30 years, places the trash out according to the rules on trash day.  He usually sets this top bag to the side of the cans. Are we to assume that trash bags are no longer legal?  Why would a legal trashbag on top of the can constitute a violation whena trash bag with no can at all is not a known violation? When dipshit Deputy Commissioner, Carlton Williams, was given the opportunity to explain to our community newspaper, the University City Review, what will cause violations; he responded that it's obvious that trash is on the premises.  When I tracked down this dipshit who refuses to answer the phone,  he could only repeat the UCD mantra about "cleaner and safer" and tell me that his nazis wanted to educate the community about trash. These trash nazis, whether they are sitting at UCD headquarters waiting for addresses or (as I was recently old) are cruising in city cars writing down addresses, are not following any guidelines!  Why can't the citizens receive written guidelines before they discover that anything on ones porch is illegal and what was legal for years is now illegal? Either way the "adjudicator" rules today, I'm going to try to get into the offices where they refuse to answer the phone.  I asked before for a written list of approved procedures only to get the standard, "what the fu__ do you want from me." These dimwitted trash nazis who can't write an understandable comment on the bogus ticket have no guidelines for writing this crap.  The harm caused to those on fixed incomes, landlord tenant relationships, and population loss is staggering.  And recently the local news reported that the city wants to push collections.  The poor and elderly are now going to start losing their homes because of these things. This crap is begging for a class action lawsuit before more damage and frustration occurs. Our city council and mayor don't give a damn about this.  Ultimately, we will need to take them to court or ths will continue to escalate.  I probably have many more tickets to receive in the next five months. Sincerely, Glenn ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see .