Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP

<p style="text-align: justify;">Earlier this month, New York City <a href="https://www.wcmlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/City-Hall-to-end-homeowner-penalties-for-tree-sidewalk-damage.pdf">announced that one, two and three-family homeowners are exempt from liens for sidewalk damage caused by trees</a>, which are maintained by the Parks Department.  There are currently 50,000 violations issued to homeowners under review for sidewalk repair and if it is found the sidewalk damage was caused by a City tree, the violation will be dismissed.  This comes on the heels of a June report from the Comptroller’s office which found that it takes approximately a year for the Park Department to repair sidewalk damage caused by City trees and that some homeowners were stuck waiting a decade for a fix.  The impact of this announcement on pending negligence lawsuits, in which the residential homeowner and City of NY are both defendants, is currently unclear, but is likely to present significant leverage for homeowners in such a context.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to Mehreen Hayat for her contribution to this post.   Please email <a href="mailto:BGibbons@wcmlaw.com">Brian Gibbons</a> with any questions.</p>