THE PROOF THAT PLAINTIFF SLIPPED AND FELL AT A BUS STOP, WHERE THE CITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING THE AREA SAFE, AS OPPOSED TO THE SIDEWALK ABUTTING DEFENDANT’S PROPERTY, WHERE DEFENDANT IS RESPONSIBLE, WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO WARRANT SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANT (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion for summary judgment in this sidewalk slip and fall case should not have been granted. Although the NYC Administrative Code makes abutting property owner’s like the defendant responsible for keeping the sidewalks safe, the Code also indicates the City is responsible for keeping bus stops safe. The defendant argued plaintiff slipped and fell at a bus stop, but the Second Department did not find the evidence for that claim sufficient to warrant summary judgment:
Under Administrative Code § 7-210, an abutting property owner has a duty to maintain the public sidewalk, but the City continues to be responsible for maintaining any part of the sidewalk that is within a designated bus stop location … .
Here, the defendant failed to demonstrate, prima facie, that the area of the sidewalk where the accident occurred was within a designated bus stop location maintained by the City … . Moonilal v Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary Gate of Heaven, 2024 NY Slip Op 01172, Second Dept 3-6-24
Practice Point: Pursuant to the NYC Administrative Code, abutting property owners are responsible for keeping the sidewalk safe, but the City is responsible for keeping bus stops safe.