Did You Know: Responsibility of Real Property Owners Under New York City Administrative Code §7-210 Explained

Under the law, in New York City real property owners are generally responsible for ensuring that the sidewalks abutting their property are in a reasonably safe condition for pedestrians, i.e. cleaning snow and ice off of the sidewalks and ensuring that there are no defective conditions that could cause a pedestrian to get hurt.

The applicable law here is New York City Administrative Code §7-210, titled “Liability of real property owner for failure to maintain sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition.” The New York City Administrative Code effectively shifts liability for defective sidewalk conditions, in most instances, from the City to the real property owners whose sidewalks abut their property, with limited exceptions.

New York City Administrative Code §7-210, subsection (a), provides that “It shall be the duty of the owner of real property abutting any sidewalk, including, but not limited to, the intersection quadrant for corner property, to maintain such sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition.” (bold emphasis added)

New York City Administrative Code §7-210, subsection (b), provides that “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.

Subdivision (b) does “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.”

What does this mean for pedestrians walking on the sidewalks of New York City? It means that, under the law, if you slip and fall on ice on a sidewalk in front of a commercial story or a residential building that houses more than three families, you may have a case against that commercial entity or the residential building. Further, if you trip and fall on a defect on a sidewalk in front of a commercial story or a residential building that houses more than three families, you may have a case against that commercial entity or the residential building. In other words, real property owners are generally responsible for the condition of the sidewalks abutting their property, and for the safety of people walking on them.

If you or someone you know has been injured due to a defect on a sidewalk in New York City, contact us at tpapain@newyorktrial.com

or (212) 972.7040 for a free consultation.

Our firm stands ready to assist you with your legal needs.

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