DOS Agents on Pace to Double Previous Snow Season's Citation Count

Records show that the number of tickets issued to owners for not removing sidewalk snow in front of their properties is on the rise as winter weather keeps hammering the city. During the first three weeks of the year, Department of Sanitation agents issued 2,036 tickets to lax landlords and homeowners for failing to shovel their sidewalks, according to the Sanitation Department. 

 

This number of tickets so far is on pace to more than double the 5,096 tickets issued during the six-month snow season last year. Brooklyn leads the way with 656 tickets this year, the Bronx is second with 636, Queens third with 603, Manhattan fourth with 90 tickets, and Staten Island fifth with 51 tickets. 

 

According to sanitation officials, the spike is in part due to more snow, from 24 inches in all of 2013 to 19 inches so far this year. All property owners must clean snow or ice from their sidewalks within four hours after the snow has stopped falling, under a clause in the city’s administrative code. However, if the snow stops after 9 p.m., owners are given until 11 a.m. the next day to shovel. The fines range from $100 to $150 for a first offense to $250 to $350 for a third offense.