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SCHENECTADY
City targets power pole signs
Business owners: Posters cheap way to draw customers
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    The signs seem to be everywhere.
    Little businesses, looking to advertise as cheaply as possible, are stapling signs to power poles throughout the city. That’s illegal — but city officials said they can’t enforce the law even though the ads include the owners’ phone numbers.
    Legally, they said, there’s no way to tell whether the person who owns the phone also committed the illegal act of hanging up the signs.
    But Corporation Counsel John Polster is considering new rules that would allow the city to crack down.
    He’s working on draft legislation that would change the city code so that anyone benefi ting from a sign is responsible for the advertisement. They would have to pay the fine if the sign is posted illegally and they would be stuck doing the time-consuming work of ripping down each sign.
    Local business owners who rely on the signs aren’t happy.
    E.J. Maier, who runs We Buy Junk Cars, said he’d lose many customers if he can’t post signs.
    “I’d lose 20 percent of my profit because 20 comes from signs,” he said.
    He has seven phone numbers — for signs, his Facebook account and other forms of advertisement — so he is able to track the effectiveness of each type of advertisement.
    Zoning Officer Steve Strichman has called the various phone num- bers on signs posted in the city, telling the business owners to take down their signs. Most have ignored him.
    But one man, who identifi ed himself only as Pete the plumber, said he recently took his signs down after a warning call from the city.
    The plumber refused to discuss why he preferred to advertise his business for free on power poles, saying only, “Isn’t that pretty selfexplanatory?”
    Maier said the city should exempt signs like theirs, which are made of durable materials. ................>>>>........................>>>>...................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01103&AppName=1

Of course, it's the way to advertise without identifying who you are.   Most are businesses that probably are not even registered with DOS, most are scam artists.   Many are "we buy houses for cash" which of course is made up mostly of the scum landlords in the city.  

Signs on utility poles are the least of schenectady's problems. They have codes/violations against graffiti too and how is that working out? They have codes/violations against blight and how is that working out? They have laws against drug dealing and how is that working out? They have laws against welfare fraud and how is that working out?

Bottom line is that the city is all talk while trying to money grab every newly created code violation/law. They NEVER follow through on anything. The courts are weak and everyone knows that!!! It's a lawbreakers dream come true!!