Broken Shovel No Excuse

DOS issued a violation notice to landlord for not removing snow and ice from the sidewalk. Landlord claimed he was unable to clean the sidewalk because his shovel had broken and none of the four stores he went to had any shovels to replace the broken one. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $50. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord was still responsible for cleaning the sidewalk. And landlord could have taken other measures such as sweeping the snow away or placing sand or salt on the ice and snow to make the sidewalk safer.

City of New York v. Basu: ECB App. No. 21321 (10/26/94) [2-page document]