CONSUMER AFFAIRS OFFICIALLY OPENS BRONX ENFORCEMENT OFFICE

DCA Enforcement Decentralized with Cross-Trained Inspectors in Four Borough Offices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2003

Contact: Dina Improta (DCA)  press@dca.nyc.gov

The newly created office streamlines DCA’s enforcement operations, allowing staff to work closely with Community Boards and other City agencies to coordinate efforts and respond to complaints quickly. DCA’s Bronx enforcement team are cross-trained in a number of areas including routine testing of scales, consumer protection violations, sidewalk cafes, peddlers, license checks, and other areas.

“Having a home base in the Bronx puts DCA right in the thick of things,” said DCA Commissioner Gretchen Dykstra. “By cross-training our inspectors, we respond to complaints quicker, work more closely with Community Boards, small businesses, and other City agencies, and have a real sense of what is happening in the neighborhoods.”

DCA’s enforcement team in the Bronx now includes a Borough Director and eight inspectors. Last year, the DCA conducted more than 5,700 inspections in the Bronx and issued citations for unlicensed activity (382), Consumer Protection Law (585), license law (3,003) and weights and measures (1,667) violations.

In addition, the DCA continues its business education initiative in all five boroughs aimed at informing small businesses about the City’s Consumer Protection Law. This summer, the department joined dozens of community members, BIDs, and others to blanket the borough with informational materials. For a copy of the DCA What Retailers Need to Know and What Service Companies Need to Know, call 311 or go online at www.nyc.gov/consumers.

DCA enforces the consumer protection laws, as well as other related City and State laws, at thousands of businesses throughout New York City. DCA licenses more than 60,000 businesses in 55 different categories in New York City and educates both consumers and businesses alike through free community seminars, licensing forums, and other informational materials. To file a complaint, call 311 or visit DCA online at www.nyc.gov/consumers.