Upper East Side announces new campaign to tackle dog poop

The Upper East Side is cracking down on picking up dog poop.

New York City Councilmember Julie Menin, whose district includes the Upper East Side, announced a plan Monday to install more than 250 aluminum signs on Upper East Side streets, reminding dog owners to pick up after their pets.

The announcement included the winning graphic of a “Curb Your Dog Campaign Design Contest” submitted by a local resident.

The winning design depicts a puppy dressed as the Statue of Liberty, holding an excrement scooper and bone, with the slogan, “Clean Streets for All, Pick Up After Your Pup!”

Menin said her announcement comes after a rise in online discussion about unattended dog feces around the neighborhood, and a high volume of complaints.

“There are serious health implications for this,” said Menin, adding that bacteria in fecal matter can cause disease. “But it’s also a quality of life issue, people don’t want to step in this. This is just common courtesy to pick up after your dog.”

The aluminum signs will be displayed in Council District 5 — which includes part of the Upper East Side — on partnered buildings, schools, and on LinkNYC kiosks around the city, according to Menin’s office.

Menin said that people can plan to see the signs put up shortly.

Some Upper East Siders support the efforts to combat excessive dog poop.

“We agree that there is too much non-governing of dog excrement,” said Marianne Killian, a resident of the neighborhood. “I almost stepped in it this morning walking to work.”

Killian also added that dogs need discipline like everybody and everything else in the world.

Another resident, Sylvia Hyman who lives on 88th St., said she agreed.

"Every day it’s a trail of dog poop,” she said. “When I just was walking down Lexington Avenue it was dog poop on the curves and it shouldn’t be that way.”

In January, researchers at Marymount Manhattan College found an overwhelming amount of fecal bacteria in various sample collections on Upper East Side sidewalks. The data showed that shoe soles picked up a high level of germs that posed sanitation risks to people’s apartments.

Citywide “Curb Your Dog” signs were removed by the Department of Transportation in 2013 because many were faded and illegible. They were never replaced. Since then, “the problem has really proliferated,” according to Menin.

Menin also said that she has introduced a legislative idea to add “Curb Your Dog” bags near sidewalk litter baskets to make it easier for residents to pick up after their dogs.

Current law mandates New Yorkers to pick up dog fecal matter or risk facing a $250 fine.