An Effort to Halt Unwanted Paper Deliveries.

In an era of spam, telemarketing, moving billboards and other forms of aggressive commercial solicitation, an old-fashioned form of advertising is surprisingly -- many say irritatingly -- resilient: fliers, restaurant menus and business cards slipped under the doors, wedged in door jambs or left on the stoops of houses and apartment buildings in New York City. Until now, homeowners have had no recourse to block the unwanted paper, often called ''lawn litter'' because in neighborhoods with yards much of the paper ends up on the lawn. But on Saturday, the city started enforcing a recent state law that prohibits the placement of ''unsolicited papers, fliers, pamphlets, handbills, circulars or other materials advertising a business or soliciting business'' at homes in New York City if the property owner has posted a sign saying such materials are not wanted. Advertisers who violate the law face fines from $250 for a first offense to $1,000 for repeat violations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]