No civil action shall be maintained against the Town of Schodack (hereinafter
referred to as "the town") or the Superintendent of Highways of the town or
against any improvement district in the town for damages or injuries to person
or property, including those arising from the operation of snowmobiles, sustained
by reason of any highway, bridge, culvert, highway marking, sign or device,
or any other property owned, operated or maintained by the town or any property
owned, operated or maintained by any improvement district therein, being defective,
out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed unless written notice of such
defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition of such highway, bridge,
culvert, highway marking, sign or device, or any other property owned, operated
or maintained by the town or any property owned, operated or maintained by
any improvement district, was actually given to the Town Clerk or the Town
Superintendent of Highways, and that there was a failure or neglect within
a reasonable time after the giving of such notice to repair or remove the
defect, danger or obstruction complained of, and no such action shall be maintained
for damages or injuries to persons or property sustained solely in consequence
of the existence of snow or ice upon any highway, bridge, culvert or any other
property owned by the town or any property owned by any improvement district
in the town unless written notice thereof, specifying the particular place,
was actually given to the Town Clerk or the Town Superintendent of Highways
and there was a failure or neglect to cause such snow or ice to be removed
or to make the place otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable time after
the receipt of such notice.
No civil action will be maintained against the town and/or the Town
Superintendent of Highways for damages or injuries to person or property sustained
by reason of any defect in the sidewalks of the town or in consequence of
the existence of snow or ice upon any of its sidewalks, unless such sidewalks
have been constructed or are maintained by the town or the Superintendent
of Highways of the town pursuant to statute, nor shall any action be maintained
for damages or injuries to person or property sustained by reason of such
defect or in consequence of such existence of snow or ice unless written notice
thereof, specifying the particular place, was actually given to the Town Clerk
of the town or to the Town Superintendent of Highways and there was a failure
or neglect to cause such defect to be remedied, such snow or ice to be removed
or to make the place otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable time after
the receipt of such notice.
The Town Superintendent of Highways shall transmit, in writing, to the
Town Clerk, within 10 days after receipt thereof, all written notices received
by him pursuant to this chapter, and he shall take any and all corrective
action with respect thereto as soon as practicable.
The Town Clerk shall keep an index record, in a separate book, of all
written notices which the Town Clerk shall receive of the existence of a defective,
unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition in or upon or of an accumulation
of ice and snow upon any town highway, bridge, culvert or a sidewalk, or any
other property owned by the town or by any improvement district, which record
shall state the date of the receipt of the notice, the nature and location
of the condition stated to exist and the name and address of the person from
whom the notice is received. The record of such notice shall be preserved
for a period of five years from the date it is received. All such written
notices shall be indexed according to the location of the alleged defective,
unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition or the location of accumulated snow
or ice. The Town Clerk, upon receipt of such written notice, shall immediately
and in writing notify the Town Superintendent of Highways of the receipt of
such notice.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to repeal or modify
or waive any existing requirement or statute of limitations which is applicable
to those causes of action but, on the contrary, shall be held to be additional
requirements to the rights to maintain such action, nor shall anything herein
contained be held to modify any existing rule of law relative to the question
of contributory negligence, nor to impose upon the town, its officers and
employees and/or any of its improvement districts any greater duty or obligations
than that it shall keep its streets, sidewalks and public places in a reasonably
safe condition for public use and travel.