Paws-n-Claws is a pet supplies and groomery that opened in July 2007 at 448 Grand Avenue. The the owners, Olton family, who also live on Grand Avenue proudly launched their little store with all the fanfare a few dozen homemade fliers can generate.
At first they handed the brochures out, but began taping to street lights after noticing how heavily layered over they were with campaign posters. The Oltons assumed it must be okay if politicians do it.
Politicians plaster their faces on public property all the time knowing full well it’s against the law. Occasionally they’re slapped with fines, considered incidental campaign costs.
After the elections were over in November, Paws-n-Claws received a surprise visit by Agent Victor Thomas from the Department of Sanitation to present a bill in the amount of $8,700 for his four-month collection of tickets to Paws-n-Claws for wrongful promotion. Payable immediately.
The Oltons, plausibly innocent, sought forgiveness from Sanitation Court, i.e., Environmental Control Board.
ECB didn’t care that Sanitation ran a sting on the store, didn’t care that the Oltons wouldn’t have taped up their fliers if they had been told not to, didn’t care that they can’t pay, didn’t care the mountain of fines threatens to push an industrious family into disabling debt. ECB sided with Sanitation, finding all 116 handbills guilty even though Agent Thomas managed to produce just a single tattered one at trial. 116 x $75 = $8,700! Due NOW!
Since then Ricardo Olton, who drives a UPS truck at his day job, has appealed at ECB — and lost. Olton has nothing to show for paying off about $1,000 since Sanitation keeps the total up by piling on penalties. He’s taken the case to higher court, but has been told even if he wins, Sanitation will still demand its mountain of flesh.
Councilwoman Letitia James has tried to intervene but ECB stonewalled even her! Ms. James and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn have written a bill to make such bureaucratic extortion illegal in the future; it won’t help the Oltons, though, because they’ve already been extorted.
The hearing at City Hall will be scheduled in the next few weeks and all interested parties are urged to come and speak.
