City of Watervliet, NY Article II Deposits and Obstructions

§ 244-6 Removal of snow and ice or other obstructions.

A. Within 24 hours of the cessation of a snowfall and at such other occasions requiring the same, every owner or occupant of any house or other building and the owner or proprietor, lessee or person entitled to the possession of any vacant lot, parking lot or gasoline service station and every person having the charge of any church, cemetery, jail or other public building in this City shall clear the sidewalks in front of such house or other building and in front of such lot of snow and ice and keep them conveniently free therefrom or shall, in case the snow and ice are so congealed that they cannot be removed without injury to the pavement, cause said snow and ice to be strewn with ashes, sand or the like and shall also at all times keep such sidewalk clean and free from all dirt, filth or other obstruction or encumbrances so as to allow the use of said sidewalks in an easy and commodious manner.

B. Depositing snow and/or ice on streets is prohibited. No person shall place, throw, erect or cause to be placed, thrown or erected in any public street, square, alley, highway or avenue in the City any pile of dirt, snow, ice, rubbish or refuse material of any kind, which shall or may obstruct or endanger the ordinary travel upon such street, square, alley, highway or avenue; nor shall any owner or occupant of any house or lot adjoining any street, square, alley, highway or avenue in the City permit any accumulation of ice on the sidewalk in front of the house or lot owned or occupied by him/her, which may be caused by water from the house gutter or conductor from such house or lot running to or across such sidewalk.

C. This section shall not be constructed to prevent any person from shoveling snow from the sidewalk to the street, provided that it is done in such a manner as not to create piles and obstructions that may endanger the public use of such streets.

§ 244-7 Deposits of substances causing damage to pavement prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or discharge or to cause, suffer or permit to be placed, deposited or discharged upon any sidewalk, street or streetway any liquid, solid or substance of any sort or combination thereof in such a manner that the deposit will be permitted to run upon or over the surface of any sidewalk, street or streetway so as to cause damage thereto.

§ 244-7.1 Ground surface hazards. [1]

A property owner shall be responsible for removing snow, ice, and other obstructions, such as holes, broken or missing pavement, loose stone, excavations, breaks, and projections from the public sidewalk and curbs abutting his or her property and from all other surfaces that are not used for public pedestrian use, such as curbs separated from sidewalks by a grassy median or any other median, and shall maintain the same in a safe state of repair, free of holes, ridges or other defects which are hazardous to pedestrian traffic and shall clean and repair the same from time to time, as needed to correct such defects. Such property owner shall be liable for any injury or damage to any person or to such person’s property occurring because of such owner’s failure or negligence to make, maintain or repair sidewalks, curbs, and any other surface not used for public pedestrian use, such as curbs separated from sidewalks by a grassy median or any other median, or to remove snow, ice or other obstructions as provided herein.

[1] Editor's Note: This section was added to former Ch. 244 on 12-4-2008 by Ord. No. 1838.

§ 244-8 Obstruction of public ways without a permit prohibited.

A. No person shall place or erect or cause to be placed or erected any boxes, barrels, containers of any kind, structure, fence, pole, string, rope, line, pipe, chain or obstruction or barrier of any kind rising above the surface in or upon any street, boulevard, alley or other public way or in or upon any sidewalk between the lot line and the curb within the confines of the City, without permission therefor, in writing, from the General Manager, and any person violating this subsection shall be subject to the punishment hereinafter provided for each 24 hours during which such barrier or obstruction shall remain so placed or erected after he shall have been notified by written notice to remove the obstruction, given by the General Manager. Service of the written notice by depositing the notice, securely enclosed in a postpaid wrapper in any post office, addressed to the last known place of residence of the violator, shall be good and sufficient service.

B. The Mayor and the City or the General Manager, upon application duly made, are authorized in their discretion to grant any person applying therefor permission, in writing, to place or erect any box, barrel, container of any kind, structure, fence, pole, string, rope, line, pipe, chain or obstruction or barrier of any kind rising above the surface upon any street or sidewalk between the lot line and the curbline within the confines of the City for any space of time not exceeding 10 days upon receiving from the applicant a bond with sufficient surety conditioned to save the City harmless from any claim of damage resulting from such use; however, permission shall not extend to authorize the occupation of more than 1/2 of the sidewalk or 1/4 of the street opposite to any lot in the City owned or occupied by the person applying for the permit with special permission from the Mayor and the City for that purpose had and obtained. Any permission granted pursuant to this subsection is subject to be revoked by the Mayor and the City, whenever they shall deem it proper. Any person who shall have placed or erected or caused to be placed or erected any barrier or obstruction subject to this section, after having obtained permission pursuant to this subsection, shall cause the obstruction and all and any rubbish arising therefrom to be removed from the street or sidewalk at or before the expiration of the time limited in the permit for the obstruction, and, upon default, he shall be subject to the punishment hereinafter provided for each 24 hours the obstruction shall be and remain on the street or sidewalk after the expiration of the time prescribed in the permit.

C. Any rubbish, trash, construction debris, litter or garbage of any kind placed, piled or present, in any manner, where it blocks and inhibits the normal flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic in a street, on a sidewalk or alley or any public right-of-way and could present a danger to the public shall cause the General Manager or his designee to review said violation and shall require the General Manager to remove said debris at the expense of the adjoining property owner and/or purveyor of said debris. The General Manager may, at his discretion, attempt an immediate method to contact the property owner by phone or other means to remedy the problem immediately. In any event, the General Manager shall cause the debris to be removed by City personnel by the end of the business day or as he deems appropriate to preserve a clear and safe passage area in the public right-of-way.