Landlord Made Timely Efforts to Clear Snow

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she slipped and fell on snow and ice in front of landlord's building. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible for tenant's injuries and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant fell at 8:20 a.m. on Jan. 17, 2005. Weather data showed small amounts of snow fell between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. on that date and that the temperature was well below freezing. Landlord's snow removal operations began at 7 a.m. Landlord cleared the sidewalk of snow and ice, and then applied salt and sand. New York City law gives landlords four hours after a snowfall stops to remove snow and ice from abutting sidewalks, except between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. So, even if the snow had stopped falling by 7 a.m., as tenant claimed, landlord had until 11 a.m. at the earliest to complete snow removal

Rodriguez v. NYCHA: NYLJ, 6/12/08, p. 38, col. 6 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Tom, JP, Mazzarelli, Gonzalez, Sweeny, DeGrasse, JJ)