The 'Snow Police'

[Patranus]

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – New Yorkers could face a hefty fine if they don’t start removing snow, ice and dirt from sidewalks.

The City code states that every person who is in charge of any building or lot of ground in the city that has a paved sidewalk must remove the snow, ice, dirt or any other material from the sidewalk within four hours after the snow ceases to fall.

Businesses are also vulnerable and could face fines ranging from $100 to $350, reports CBS 2’s Magee Hickey.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/12/27/property-owners-must-remove-snow-or-face-fines/

Nice to see the government fining people if they don't clean the PUBLIC sidewalk. I wonder what fines the government faces if they fail to clean the roadways within 4 hours.

 

[theeedude]

let's abolish the government, clearly anarchy is so much better.

 

[Patranus]

let's abolish the government, clearly anarchy is so much better.

If you took the time to read the article, that is what the government is essentially doing, claiming it isn't their job to clear public sidewalks.

Again, a public sidewalk, you know, public property, that thing owned by the city.

 

[CallMeJoe]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/12/27/property-owners-must-remove-snow-or-face-fines/

Nice to see the government fining people if they don't clean the PUBLIC sidewalk. I wonder what fines the government faces if they fail to clean the roadways within 4 hours.

You'd bitch even more loudly if they decided to raise taxes to pay for cleaning the sidewalks.

 

[shiner]

The simple solution is to tear out the sidewalk and replace it with dirt. No paved sidewalk, no fine.

 

[her209]

The simple solution is to tear out the sidewalk and replace it with dirt. No paved sidewalk, no fine.

No sidewalk, no business.

 

[drebo]

You'd bitch even more loudly if they decided to raise taxes to pay for cleaning the sidewalks.

Actually, in some places, the city does charge businesses a "frontage" fee to maintain public landscaping/walkways/roadways along which those businesses are built.

I'm not a big fan of either method.

Property taxes should be sufficient for residences. Businesses should be wise enough to know that it behoves them to make their place of business accessible to customers. A 4 hour time window is really rather silly, though.

 

[Slick5150]

In my city homeowners are also fined if they don't clear the sidewalks after a snowstorm. I'm totally fine with this. I don't expect the city to have the resources to do it, and it's dangerous otherwise, so lazy homeowners deserve to be zapped for not doing their part.

 

[middlehead]

The window is 24 hours here, but we also don't turn into retards when snow starts to drop.

 

[Drako]

Am I missing something?

Most cities have had laws like this for decades. Is this something new for New York City?

 

[nageov3t]

why is this news? this is the case for practically every town/city.

if faced with a choice of higher property taxes all year versus having to shovel their own sidewalks for the 2-3 blizzards we get in an average winter, I'd imagine most people would vote for having to shovel.

 

[sandorski]

Fail OP is fail. Welcome to the Real World, the one you Hate while taking it for granted.

 

[ShawnD1]

You'd bitch even more loudly if they decided to raise taxes to pay for cleaning the sidewalks.

This. Clean your fucking sidewalk.

4 hours seems unreasonable. Where I live, the city tries to plow city streets with 72 hours of snow falling, so I think 2-3 days to shovel the sidewalks would make more sense.

 

[CallMeJoe]

why is this news? this is the case for practically every town/city...

Patranus saw an opportunity to bitch about Big Government again; it's a compulsion. At least he resisted the temptation to blame the law on his hated "Progressives".

 

[her209]

Patranus saw an opportunity to bitch about Big Government again; it's a compulsion. At least he resisted the temptation to blame the law on his hated "Progressives".

Its not even a state law.

The City code states that every person who is in charge of any building or lot of ground in the city that has a paved sidewalk must remove the snow, ice, dirt or any other material from the sidewalk within four hours after the snow ceases to fall.

 

[CallMeJoe]

Its not even a state law.

Big Government doesn't actually have to be Big to invoke the ire of Patranus.

 

[MovingTarget]

I don't see the problem here. Laws like this make cities livable during the winter. I live in f*cking Alabama and have never travelled to "the North" and even I understand this. We don't even get "real snow" in comparison, much less any snow some winters. Sometime we all have to do our part for the common good. Another analog would be laws about keeping your grass cut regularly. The city will technically own the grass between the sidewalk and street, but are you expected to mow it? Certainly. As it should be.

 

[BoberFett]

Am I missing something?

Most cities have had laws like this for decades. Is this something new for New York City?

Yup, this is pretty standard, not sure where the rage is coming from. I must admit though, it always annoyed me that I was expected to keep my sidewalk clean so that other people can walk across my lawn, and the thanks I get in return was broken beer bottles and other assorted trash to clean.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Sometimes I'm glad my neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks...

 

[GoPackGo]

Here in MN its 24 hours after the snow stops.

So in the event the snow stops at midnight, you have until 4am to get it done.

This is outrageous.

 

[Darwin333]

Here in MN its 24 hours after the snow stops.

So in the event the snow stops at midnight, you have until 4am to get it done.

This is outrageous.

That was the only issue I had and it is completely dependent upon enforcement. If they are like our meter maids who will wait 15 minutes at a parking meter waiting for it to expire and already have the ticket written out the moment it goes to zero I could understand the issue.

I would be pissed the hell off if it stopped snowing shortly after I went to bed and I woke up to a ticket. I wouldn't really have an issue with 24 hours, probably wouldn't like it but better than paying .gov employees to do it.

 

[Argo]

This is NYC city code. If people have problems with it they should use constitutional process to change the law.

Although if the were to change one of 2 things would happen:

* People would bitch because their taxes went up to pay for sidewalk cleanup
* People would bitch because sidewalks are unwalkable

 

[nageov3t]

fwiw, I don't know anyone who's gotten a ticket over snow removal. I'd imagine it's probably the kinda thing where the cops don't really have the time to care unless people complain about it (sorta like keeping the grass mowed)

 

[Drako]

Yup, this is pretty standard, not sure where the rage is coming from. I must admit though, it always annoyed me that I was expected to keep my sidewalk clean so that other people can walk across my lawn, and the thanks I get in return was broken beer bottles and other assorted trash to clean.

Yep, one of the joys of property ownership :thumbsup:

 

[Fenixgoon]

why is this news? this is the case for practically every town/city.

if faced with a choice of higher property taxes all year versus having to shovel their own sidewalks for the 2-3 blizzards we get in an average winter, I'd imagine most people would vote for having to shovel.

indeed. i thought this was fairly common practice in cities