From: [an eater]
Date: Friday, June 1, 2007
To: eater complaints dept.
Subject: Sidewalk dumping question
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One of the sources of New York City's summer stench is the pervasive dumping of used cooking oil and other liquid refuse on the city's sidewalks by restaurants. Zen Palate on Union Square East does this across the street on the park-side curb. I dare you to stand there (summer or winter) and not gag on the stench. Observe the puddles of oily liquids coagulating on the ground in the cracks and potholes. The same goes for L'Annam on University and 13th Street - and they do it right on their own corner, they don't even have the smarts to do it across the street.
What can be done about this? Is a complaint to the DoH sufficient, or do I have to stalk them at closing time with a video camera and provide evidence?
I understand that these practices are accepted in other parts of the world. Perhaps someone should point out to the proprietors that we all got on boats, left these far-off places and came to the United States because said practices rendered such cities the undesirable festering shit holes from which we were eager to flee in the first place.
