Who’s Responsible For Clearing Snowy Sidewalks? Southwest Brooklyn Politicians Weigh In

After last week’s bomb cyclone and freezing weekend, things are finally heating up a bit—and so is the conversation over who is responsible for keeping New York’s sidewalks clear from snow.

Southwest Brooklyn politicians got vocal on social media regarding snowy sidewalks, suggesting a series of ideas to keep them clear, which ranged from increased fines and enforcement for big retailers to City-funded sidewalk clearing.

Newly minted Councilmember Justin Brannan (D-43) announced plans to introduce legislation that would target chain businesses and big retailers for failing to keep the sidewalks safe for pedestrians—especially since their storefronts take up significant space.

“After it snowed on Thursday last week, there was no excuse for there to still be snow and ice outside storefronts a few days later,” said Councilmember Brannan in a statement. “If small business owners can shovel their sidewalk after a storm, then a chain store or bank with multiple storefronts can surely hire a company to do it whenever there’s a storm.”

Currently, building owners, tenants, leasees or occupants—depending on the terms—are responsible for keeping their sidewalks clear, says the DSNY. Depending on when the snow stops falling, a window of 4 to 14 hours is allowed for the clearing of snow, and a failure to comply could result in a ticket of $100 or more on the first offense, with the ticket cost increasing on subsequent penalties.

For large, chain retailers and franchises with more than 10 locations in New York, though, Brannan wants the fines to go up: $1000 for the first time, up to $5000 for third offenses (and any thereafter).

Small businesses would be exempted from the increase because they’re responsible for much smaller portions of the sidewalk, according to Brannan, but fines against chain businesses would “encourage businesses to be good neighbors.”

The Councilmember also promised to start a “Shovels of Shame” campaign on Twitter to spotlight businesses in his district that weren’t complying—a move that was enthusiastically greeted by followers:

Meanwhile, Southwestern Brooklyn politicians got involved in a Twitter debate over whether or not New York City should plow sidewalks after the @BayRidgeDrivers account published a video of sidewalks being cleared by a small snow plow in Montreal. Democratic State Senate hopefuls for the 22nd District, Ross Barkan and Andrew Gounardes, chimed in with their thoughts on the matter.

Gounardes suggested a meeting point between an owner or tenants responsibility and the city’s efforts to clear the sidewalk, with an assessment for unshoveled sidewalks.

Replying to the same post, Ross Barkan was in agreement, stating simply “The city of New York should plow the sidewalks.” When challenged about the cost, he agreed the city would have to foot the bill.

John Quaglione, Press Secretary and Deputy Chief of Staff to State Senator Golden, decided to weigh in online, taking Barkan to task for “tax increases and big spending,” writing that “lofty pie in the sky ideas… don’t work as solutions.”

Barkan argued back that New York City could make use of a budget surplus to pay for sidewalk clearing and that the benefit would be saving residents time and money, finally accusing State Senator Golden (Barkan’s potential opponent in a general election) of giving tax breaks to developers—suggesting the snow-clearing money could come from closing loopholes.

Quaglione didn’t reply to Barkan’s final post, and State Senator Golden refrained from commenting on Twitter regarding snow clearing altogether.

The challenge to Golden in the general election is still 8 months out, but expect more debate between Barkan and Gounardes as the primary draws closer. The two candidates seem open to expressing themselves directly and engaging with opponents at length on Twitter—a topic that dominated the national political conversation in 2017.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for Councilmember Brannan’s bill in the near future, as the new Councilmember looks to make an impression with both his constituents and his fellow Councilmembers early on.