Are Your Sidewalks a Frozen Deathtrap?

In a 1996 article about the ultra-rich, the NY Times points out that Billy Cosby's Manhattan sidewalk is heated and therefore "remains opulently snow-free," which also leaves him lawsuit-free. The ultra-non-rich use the archaic shovel, but the job still gets done, and you may even receive a thank you for your hard work. Not everyone does their duty of de-icing, however.

Recently, one woman spotted another pregnant woman falling on the icy stretch of sidewalk in Brooklyn, only to be carted off in an ambulance. The witness reported back, "This woman fell on a stretch of State Street that is always a disaster in inclement weather. I called 311 when I got home. I was transferred three times to various departments. Finally I reached a woman who told me I have to file the complaint with the Sanitation Department." She was then told that the DoS were involved in a snow removal action and weren’t taking any complaints.

Folks in Kensington have been speaking up about the state of their sidewalks as well. They note that the administrative code of NYC states, "Removal of snow, ice and dirt from sidewalks; property owners' duties. Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person, having charge of any building or lot of ground in the city, abutting upon any street where the sidewalk is paved, shall, within four hours after the snow ceases to fall."

In DUMBO, the sidewalks by the Manhattan Bridge are coated with ice, as is the pedestrian plaza (both pictured). When we inquired about it this morning, the DoT told us, "The City is generally in charge of snow removal on streets and sidewalks, though property owners share in that responsibility on adjacent sidewalks." If you'd like to shame the non-shovelers in your neighborhood, please send your photo (and location information) to tipsATgothamistDOTcom.

UPDATE: When asked who was responsible specifically for the DUMBO areas pictured above, the DoT told us: "We'll check it out." And since we posted, the Brooklyn Paper has put together a video from the scene.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on January 13, 2009 12:35 PM

Comments [rss]

cncrocket

What a bunch of fucking pussies. This is a fucking cold city, DUH! I moved here from Arizona, and I'm not bitching about the blocks of frozen sidewalk in my neighborhood. NYC is a cold, uncomfortable, and dirty city. If you can't deal with that, you should get out while you can. That's NYC.

cncrocket

What a bunch of fucking pussies. This is a fucking cold city, DUH! I moved here from Arizona, and I'm not bitching about the blocks of frozen sidewalk in my neighborhood. NYC is a cold, uncomfortable, and dirty city. If you can't deal with that, you should get out while you can. That's NYC.

YELLOWFOOT

THE JERKS WITH THE CORNER HOUSE ON POWERS AND JUDGE NEVER DEICE THERE SIDEWALKS I NEARLY BREAK MYSELF EVERY DAY AD SINCE ITS THE CORNER ITS NOT A SMALL AREA

dimadelux

A shitload of sidewalks covered in ice in Brooklyn this morning

peanuthead

if its already bad now, wait 'til the post precipitation temperature drop tonight! whooh, is that gonna be fun.

grifforama

Most roads West of Bedford in Williamsburg are fucking death traps right now.

RatherBeBiking

The NYPD precinct on Avenue C failed to de-ice any of the sidewalks surrounding the station. Really a mess and lots of people had to cross the street because of how slippery it was.

dwarbi

This is a tough problem to solve. On Sunday morning I was walking on my block in Brooklyn (near Atlantic Center), thinking about the icy sidewalk and the danger it posed to my wife, who is 9 months pregnant... and-whoop! up in the air I went. Right down on my side. Luckily I am not pregnant. I wish people would think about those who would not weather a fall as well. (Such as the elderly.)

ab_bklyn

I live in DUMBO and my trip to the subway is always a deathtrap in the winter. I have slipped and fallen twice in the past three years because most of the sidewalks that I walk on are adjacent to parks (therefore the responsibility of the city who NEVER shovel or de-ice) or underneath the Manhattan bridge, where the water drips down and freezes causing piles of ice to build up. It's insane that the city doesn't take more action considering the litigious society we live in. If I ever get injured on one of these sidewalks I will happily sue the pants off the city.

r1b2

I live in a single-family in downtown Brooklyn. It's a back building, so my street frontage is really minimal, perhaps 3 feet. The rest of the sidewalk in front of the lot is the responsibility of the front building, now vacant. I have taken the responsibility of shoveling and sprinklin de-icer for the full lot because I'm a big boy and it's the right thing to do. Further, the building to the west of ours is a 6-story apartment building, with a super who is not on premises. As I was out shoveling, I shoveled in front for them, too. Because it's the right thing to do. Simply put, folks need to take responsibility for themselves, their property, and their community.

babyhitler

yeah, some mugger could have slipped and fell and broke his head in but thanks to your actions he's free to terrorize the neighborhood. It's like when my sister tells me that she's going to donate her hair to cancer victims and I'm like "how do you know your hair isn't going to someone who's evil? How do you know that your hair isn't giving confidence to someone who once they are through with the disease won't be a blight on humanity?"

kane

Careful with those radical ideas about "community" and helping others with no compensation in return. Those are some dangerous thoughts and it might offend someone.

chickblao

you fuckin pussys, move to florida! this is new york, there is snow and ice. always has been, what do you expect

Yonni22

"Removal of snow, ice and dirt from sidewalks; property owners' duties. Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person, having charge of any building or lot of ground in the city, abutting upon any street where the sidewalk is paved, shall, within four hours after the snow ceases to fall."

I believe the law does not apply to one-, two- or three-family properties that are at least partially occupied by the owner and used exclusively for residential purposes.

Yonni22

NYC Administrative Code § 7-210

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the owner of real property

abutting any sidewalk, including, but not limited to, the intersection

quadrant for corner property, shall be liable for any injury to property or

personal injury, including death, proximately caused by the failure of such

owner to maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition. Failure to

maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition shall include, but not

be limited to, the negligent failure to install, construct, reconstruct,

repave, repair or replace defective sidewalk flags and the negligent failure

to remove snow, ice, dirt or other material from the sidewalk. This

subdivision shall not apply to one-, two- or three-family residential real

property that is (i) in whole or in part, owner occupied, and (ii) used

exclusively for residential purposes.

So if you own a one, two or three family residential property and reside there, you will not be held liable for any injuries on the sidewalk. Am I correct?

NannyState

I nearly did a Dr Atkins yesterday on some icy crap pushed from in front of one building to another. If more people took pride in their city, there should have been a brawl over that.

babyhitler

I don't slip cause I've got the reflexes of a cat who's got the reflexes of a snake but my dad's car was stuck in the ice for TEN MINUTES!

djwerdna

I was in Vancouver over the holidays. They had just gotten a couple of inches of snow dumped on them. Since they weren't used to the snow, the roads and the sidewalks minimally cleaned. I'm really surprised that I didn't see anybody slip or fall.

wooden_shoes

My best friend lives in Vancouver and said the same thing. She said her block was just solid 4 inches of ice.

TheKlaus

Oh man, I slip so much on my walk to the L train in the morning it's nuts. I haven't fallen completely to the ground yet (fingers crossed!). But I slip a lot. I think I need someone following me with some bongo drums so they can wail on them a la Scoobie Doo every time I have a run-in-place-slipping incident

Rocknrope

As someone prone to slipping and falling, I've given up on relying on either the city or private sector to manage the ice situation, and bought myself a pair of Yaktrax. Best 20 bucks I ever spent.

I can literally run on the ice now without fear of falling, and they slip right over my regular shoes. Anyone who's clumsy like me and not looking to secure a lawsuit should do the same.