90 Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary 34-1
generally $100 for a first offense and are usually the same for
subsequent violations, but can reach up to a cost of $300.
6
If a New Yorker wishes to challenge the issuance of a
violation, an administrative fact-finding hearing will be held before
the Environmental Control Board (ECB), which is one of the largest
administrative tribunals in the City.
7
The ECB provides hearings for
a multitude of infractions of the City’s laws and rules issued by
various City agencies, including the Department of Sanitation.
8
Each
hearing involving a dirty sidewalk is initially heard before an
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)—a New York State attorney with
whom the City has contracted.
9
Under section 3-54 of title 48 of the
Rules of the City of New York (R.C.N.Y.), the applicable burden of
proof before the ECB is a preponderance of the credible evidence.
10
The responding citizen can represent himself, hire an attorney, or
obtain assistance from professionals, colleagues, or even friends and
family members.
11
6
See N.Y.C., N.Y., ADMIN.CODE § 16-118(2)(a); SUMMARY OF SANITATION,
supra note 3, at 6. Customarily, a property owner will be given the option of
paying the $100 upon a plea of guilty. S
UMMARY OF SANITATION, supra note 3, at
4, 6. If a property owner avails himself of the right to challenge the NOV at a
hearing, the maximum fine is $300. Id. However, for a first offense, the
respondent should not expect to pay more than the $100. Id. On June 1, 2003, the
fines for several sanitation code violations, including the failure to clean sidewalks
and eighteen inches into the gutter, doubled to $100 upon order of the ECB. See
Sanitation Fines Increase on June 1st, N.Y.C.
D
EP’T OF SANITATION (Apr. 7,
2003), http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/html/pr2003/040703.shtml.
7
The ECB has a caseload of about 700,000 hearings per year. David B.
Goldin & Martha I. Casey, New York City Administrative Tribunals: A Case Study
in Opportunity for Court Reform, 49 A.B.A. J
UD.’S JOURNAL 20 (Winter 2010),
available at
http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/divisions/Judicial/MO/Me
mberDocuments/JJ_2010_Winter.authcheckdam.pdf.
8
The ECB has jurisdiction to hear complaints arising from quality of life
violations issues by twelve city agencies, including the Department of Sanitation.
Id. at 23. The ECB was created in 1972 to adjudicate air and noise pollution
violations and since that time its jurisdiction has been repeatedly expanded. Id. at
28 n.10. In November of 2008, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the New
York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, however the ECB
continues to have its own separate offices and caseload. Id. at 23.
9
SUMMARY OF SANITATION, supra note 3, at 4.
10
The ECB’s procedural rules are contained in 48 R.C.N.Y. §§ 3-11 to 3-95
(2013).
11
See Frequently Asked Questions: Do I Need a Lawyer?, N.Y.C. OATH,
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oath/html/ecb/faq.shtml#lawyer (last visited Mar. 14,