Sidewalks are an important part of any country, especially in the United States; there are strict laws made for sidewalk violations. The reason why sidewalks are constructed in the first place is to ensure the safety of the pedestrians. The ratio of people who prefer to walk is relatively high, and therefore, to make sure that those people remain safe and secure from accidents, we need sidewalks.

Responsibility for Building Sidewalks

The responsibility for building sidewalks lies on the property owners. All property owners, whether they are homeowners living in the residential areas or business owners owning buildings in the commercial areas, party is responsible for constructing sidewalks in front of their property and keeping their maintenance under check.

Things that happen when you don’t maintain the Sidewalk:

  • Not maintaining your sidewalk can cause several problems for pedestrians and you, too as well.
  • Accidents could occur on your property due to the damaged sidewalk.
  • People could get hurt and sue you legally.
  • You can fall under DOT’s (Department of transportation) radar of sidewalk violation.

What DOT can do:

Dot is an organization that supervises the maintenance of the infrastructure within the city. If DOT finds your sidewalk damaged, they will send you a notice in which you’d be given the time of 75 days to fix the sidewalk. If you do not repair the sidewalk within the prescribed time, DOT hires a qualified contractor to do the job while paying the bill for its cost through the taxes.

If you do not pay the bill:

If you are one of those who don’t care about fulfilling their duties and decide not to pay the bill, you would be making a huge mistake. If you do not pay for the bill, you wouldn’t be able to resell or refinance your property as the County Clerk keeps the record of your sidewalk violation sent to them by DOT.

The violation copy cannot be nullified until you either repair your sidewalk on your own or clear your dues if DOT repairs it for you. The DOT organization follows up with you to confirm the circumstances in either case, and if you come clean, they notify the County Clerk to remove the violation charge from you.

Tips to avoid Sidewalk violation:

Now that you know what problems sidewalk violations can cause, you should also know how to avoid sidewalk violations.

Hire a DOT Sidewalk violation removal NYC as soon as possible to repair your sidewalk.

If, by any chance, you fail to repair the sidewalk on time, then try to negotiate with the DOT and appeal for more time. However, you would have to let them know about your situation before the given deadline.

Let’s suppose DOT hires someone instead and fixes your sidewalk; you should diligently pay your dues quickly to avoid the rest of the trouble it can cause you.

Conclusion:

Sidewalk violation can become a headache for you in the long run. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you avoid violation at all costs and repair your sidewalk by hiring a qualified contractor to fix it on time.