Dog poop in Bushwick is a problem—there's even a detailed doo map that says as much. But how much can a mere map—compiled from cold, unfeeling data—really tell us? In order to truly understand what the victims of excessive dog poop face, we need to hear the stories straight from those living the nightmare every day.
DNAinfo has such a story, which tracks the lives of real, flesh-and-blood Bushwick residents whose lives have been destroyed by defecating dogs. We meet Luis Ramos, who each day wages a Sisyphean battle against the poop constantly piling up in a local community garden. His own sister, perhaps lacking Ramos's fortitude, succumbed to her own battle with poop, now refusing to park anywhere in the vicinity. There is also the hilarious grave concern for the children, "who might get feces on their shoes or bodies before school."
"This is a health problem. The school is right near," Ramos says. "The children don't look where they're going. We don't want to have a dog problem."
CB 4's Willie Morales told us that as a result of recent complaints, the Sanitation Department has agreed to crack down on neighborhood scofflaws, increasing enforcement and more vigilantly ticketing people who refuse to pick up after their pets. "Believe me, when people start getting $250 fines, they'll be complaining," he reassured us.
As for the victims of (PTBPD), or Post Traumatic Baby Pooping Disorder, well, they're out of luck: That's just good parenting.
