CITY (NYC), NOT ABUTTING LANDOWNERS, RESPONSIBLE FOR MISSING SIDEWALK HYDRANT VALVE COVER PURSUANT TO RULES OF CITY OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
The Second Department determined that the city (NYC) was responsible for maintenance of grates or covers on sidewalks pursuant to the Rules of the City of New York Department of Transportation. Therefore plaintiff, who allegedly fell because a sidewalk hydrant valve cover was missing, could not sue the abutting landowners:
Section 7-210 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York imposes liability for injuries resulting from negligent sidewalk maintenance on the abutting property owners. However, Rules of City of New York Department of Transportation (34 RCNY) § 2-07(b) provides that owners of covers or gratings on a street are responsible for monitoring the condition of those covers and gratings and the area extending 12 inches outward from the perimeter of the hardware, and for ensuring that the hardware is flush with the surrounding street surface. “34 RCNY 2-01 includes a sidewalk’ within the definition of street'” … . Accordingly, the City, and not the defendants, was responsible for maintaining the condition of the area where the plaintiff fell … . “[T]here is nothing in section 7-210 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York indicating that the City Council intended to supplant the provisions of 34 RCNY 2-07(b) and to allow a plaintiff to shift the statutory obligation of the owner of the cover or grating to the abutting property owner” … . Torres v Sander’s Furniture, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 09091 2nd Dept 12-9-15
MONTHLY COMPILATION INDEX ENTRIES FOR THIS CASE:
NEGLIGENCE (CITY [NYC], NOT ABUTTING LANDOWNERS, RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF SIDEWALK HYDRANT VALVE COVER)/SLIP AND FALL (CITY [NYC], NOT ABUTTING LANDOWNERS, RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF SIDEWALK HYDRANT VALVE COVER)/MUNICIPAL LAW (CITY [NYC]], NOT ABUTTING LANDOWNERS, RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF SIDEWALK HYDRANT VALVE COVER)/TRANSPORTATION, NYC DEPARTMENT OF (RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF SIDEWALK HYDRANT VALVE COVER)
