Who is responsible when I slip on a NYC sidewalk?

For most commercial and residential buildings in NYC, NYC Administrative Code §7-210 makes the abutting property owner liable for sidewalk maintenance. Owners of one-, two-, or three-family owner-occupied homes are exempt, for those, the City is responsible. For everyone else (commercial, larger residential, NYCHA), the building owner bears the duty.

What do I have to prove in a slip-and-fall case?

Three things: a defective condition existed; the owner had actual or constructive notice of the condition (knew about it or should have known); and the condition caused your injury. 'Constructive notice' usually means the defect was visible long enough that the owner should have discovered it through reasonable inspection.

Can I sue the City for a sidewalk fall?

Only in narrow situations: City-owned property, properties with abutting-owner exemptions, or where the City did the defective work (utility cuts, tree-root upheaval). A 90-day Notice of Claim under General Municipal Law §50-e is required before suing the City. Most NYC sidewalk cases proceed against the private abutting owner, not the City.

How long do I have to file a slip-and-fall lawsuit in New York?

Three years from the date of the fall under CPLR §214(5). Against the City or a public entity, 90 days for the Notice of Claim, then within one year and 90 days for the lawsuit.

What if I slipped on snow or ice, when is the property owner liable?

New York's 'storm-in-progress' doctrine generally protects owners while a storm is actively in progress. The duty to clear arises a reasonable time after the storm ends. NYC Admin Code §16-123 also gives commercial property owners specific timeframes to clear snow. The case turns on what the owner knew, when they knew, and what they did.

My fall was partly my own fault. Can I still recover?

Yes. New York uses pure comparative fault under CPLR §1411, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can recover even if you were 99% at fault. There is no all-or-nothing contributory bar like some states have.

Slip and Fall Lawyer in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn | Nicholas Rose

Attorney Advertising

Slip and Fall Lawyer in Sheepshead Bay

Sheepshead Bay is a mix of single-family housing along the Emmons waterfront, dense pre-war elevator co-ops along Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z, and the commercial spines on Emmons, Sheepshead Bay Road, and Avenue U. The case mix follows the building stock: marina-side sidewalk falls, co-op lobby and elevator cases, commercial inside-falls in the Avenue U corridor, and a recurring set of single-family driveway cases. I represent Sheepshead Bay fall victims out of my Forest Hills office and file Kings County cases at 360 Adams Street. Russian-language intake available through interpreter. Call 718-261-0546.

Where Sheepshead Bay slip-and-fall cases happen

The Emmons Avenue marina corridor is the first concentration. The restaurants, seafood retail, and waterfront walkways along Emmons between Knapp Street and Ocean Avenue produce sidewalk falls on the public concrete (the marina-side promenade itself is NYC Parks property and runs on the 90-day Notice clock under GML §50-e). Wet entries at the seafood restaurants on rainy days, polished-floor falls inside the restaurants, and step-down entries from Emmons to the marina-side promenade produce a steady file. The boardwalk surfaces on Emmons themselves are NYC property and require the Notice of Claim.

The Ocean Avenue pre-war elevator co-op corridor is the second source. The 6- to 12-story Tudor-style and post-war brick co-ops running from Avenue P south through Avenue Z produce elevator-mis-leveling cases, lobby slip-and-falls, stairwell falls, and falling-fixture cases. The buildings have their own boards and management companies; the case is against the co-op corporation as the owner-operator. Maintenance records, board minutes, and elevator inspection reports drive the discovery. Avenue Z runs the densest co-op stock and produces the highest case volume.

The Avenue U commercial corridor (Russian-Jewish and Chinese overlap further west) is the third concentration. Sidewalk falls in front of the storefronts under §7-210, wet entryways at the supermarkets and restaurants, polished-tile floors inside the newer build-outs, and basement-stair access doors at the bakeries and delis. NYC Administrative Code §7-210 puts the responsibility on the abutting commercial owner.

The single-family housing stock east of Ocean Avenue and along the residential streets off Emmons produces the fourth set of cases, and the legal posture differs. Under §7-210, owner-occupied one- and two-family residences are excepted from the abutting-owner sidewalk rule, and the City retains responsibility for the public sidewalk. Sidewalk falls on those streets run against the City of New York under a 90-day Notice of Claim clock. The homeowner's private walkway, driveway, and front steps remain common-law premises cases against the homeowner.

NYC sidewalk law and §7-210

NYC Administrative Code §7-210 makes the owner of property abutting the public sidewalk responsible for keeping it in reasonably safe condition. In Sheepshead Bay, that is usually a commercial storefront on Emmons, Sheepshead Bay Road, or Avenue U; a co-op corporation along Ocean Avenue or Avenue Z; or a multi-family rental building owner. The owner-occupied one- and two-family carve-out is significant along the residential side streets, where the City retains liability for the public sidewalk in front.

For falls on NYC Parks property (the Emmons Avenue marina promenade, Manhattan Beach, Holocaust Memorial Park, Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Memorial Park), on MTA property at the B/Q stations (Sheepshead Bay, Avenue U, Neck Road, Kings Hwy), at Coney Island Hospital (NYC Health + Hospitals), at the public schools and Kingsborough Community College on the Manhattan Beach peninsula, or on any other City-owned land, GML §50-e requires a Notice of Claim within 90 days. The lawsuit has to be filed within one year and 90 days.

Snow and ice cases run under NYC Administrative Code §16-123, which gives the abutting owner four hours after the snow stops to clear the sidewalk (with the carve-out for snow that falls between 9 pm and 7 am). The marina-side and waterfront sidewalks on Emmons collect ice in the winter and produce a January-through-March cluster of snow-and-ice cases against the abutting commercial owners.

What to do after a slip-and-fall in Sheepshead Bay

Get medical attention. Coney Island Hospital at 2601 Ocean Parkway is the primary local ER. NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist is the level-one trauma center for serious falls.
Photograph the defect, the wet floor, the elevator threshold, or the marina-side surface from multiple angles. For elevator-mis-leveling cases, photograph the gap between the cab floor and the building floor at the time of the fall. For sidewalk cases, photograph the defect with a coin or ruler for scale. Save your shoes.
Determine ownership. ACRIS shows the deed. For Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z co-ops, the management company is the practical contact; the legal defendant is the co-op corporation. For commercial storefronts, the abutting owner is on the hook under §7-210.
Get witness contact information. Neighbors, doormen at the co-ops, storefront staff on the commercial corridors, and the marina-side restaurant workers are the witnesses who matter.
Report the fall to the building owner, super, management company, or storefront manager. Ask for the incident report.
If the fall happened on NYC property (Parks, MTA, public school, owner-occupied 1-2 family sidewalk), the 90-day Notice of Claim clock is already running.

Cases I take

Emmons Avenue marina-side commercial sidewalk falls
NYC Parks marina-promenade falls (90-day Notice)
Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z elevator-mis-leveling cases
Ocean Avenue co-op lobby and stairwell falls
Avenue U commercial sidewalk and inside-storefront falls (Russian and Chinese corridors)
Sheepshead Bay Road inside-restaurant slip-and-falls
Single-family driveway and walkway falls
Sidewalk falls in front of owner-occupied 1-2 family homes (City defendant, 90-day Notice)
Snow and ice clearance failures on the marina-side commercial corridor (§16-123)
MTA falls at the B/Q stations (90-day Notice)
Coney Island Hospital premises falls (90-day Notice, NYC Health + Hospitals)

Talk to Nick

Call 718-261-0546. Free consultation. Office: 102-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Spanish-language intake and Russian-language intake (through interpreter) available.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Slip accident lawyer in Sheepshead Bay