Road and sidewalk defects
Potholes and Road Defects After a New York Winter: Who Is Responsible
Winter leaves potholes, heaved slabs and broken curbs behind. When one causes a crash or a fall, the claim turns on who controls that stretch of pavement and, for New York City streets, whether the city had written notice of the defect.
By Michael A. Licatesi · Published · Updated
The short answer
- Find out who controls the spot where it happened. A city street, a state road, a sidewalk next to a private building and a utility work zone can each point to a different responsible party.
- For defects in New York City streets, sidewalks and crosswalks, the city generally is not liable unless it had prior written notice and failed to repair the defect within 15 days, as set out in Administrative Code 7-201, or a narrow exception applies, such as the city creating the defect through its own work.
- For most NYC sidewalks, the owner of the property next to the sidewalk is responsible for keeping it reasonably safe under Administrative Code 7-210.
- Photograph the defect quickly. Winter damage is often patched within days.
This guide explains general rules. It is not legal advice about a specific accident, and claims against public entities have short notice deadlines.
How winter turns small cracks into dangerous defects
Snow, ice and freezing temperatures do more than make streets slippery. Water seeps into small cracks, freezes, expands and thaws again, and over weeks of that cycle the pavement breaks apart. The result is the familiar spring list of hazards: potholes, cracked and uneven asphalt, heaved or sunken sidewalk slabs, broken curbs and crumbling crosswalks.
Those defects cause different kinds of injuries. A driver can lose control or damage a wheel in a deep pothole. A cyclist or scooter rider can be thrown when a front wheel drops into a hole. A pedestrian can trip on a raised slab edge or step into a broken crosswalk, especially at night or when slush hides the surface. Cold weather can also delay repair work and leave uneven plates, missing warning signs or unmarked holes in place longer.
Who may be responsible depends on where it happened
There is no single owner of "the road." Responsibility follows control of the specific place where the crash or fall happened, so the first job is pinning down the exact location.
NYC street or crosswalk
Who may be responsible The City of New York
First question to answer Did the city have prior written notice of the defect, and did 15 days pass without a repair?
NYC sidewalk next to a building
Who may be responsible Usually the owner of the property next to the sidewalk
First question to answer Is the property a one-, two- or three-family home that is at least partly owner-occupied and used only as a residence? If so, the owner rule in 7-210 does not apply the same way.
State highway, county road, town or village street
Who may be responsible The State or the public body that maintains it
First question to answer Which entity maintains that road and what notice laws apply? For a state highway, Highway Law 58's May 1 to November 15 window and Court of Claims rules apply.
Utility cut, trench or construction zone
Who may be responsible The utility, contractor or permit holder that did the work, and possibly the public owner
First question to answer Who opened or last worked on the pavement, and was the area properly patched, plated or marked?
Private parking lot or driveway
Who may be responsible The property owner or the business in control
First question to answer Did the owner know, or should it have known, about the defect?
| Where it happened | Who may be responsible | First question to answer |
|---|---|---|
| NYC street or crosswalk | The City of New York | Did the city have prior written notice of the defect, and did 15 days pass without a repair? |
| NYC sidewalk next to a building | Usually the owner of the property next to the sidewalk | Is the property a one-, two- or three-family home that is at least partly owner-occupied and used only as a residence? If so, the owner rule in 7-210 does not apply the same way. |
| State highway, county road, town or village street | The State or the public body that maintains it | Which entity maintains that road and what notice laws apply? For a state highway, Highway Law 58's May 1 to November 15 window and Court of Claims rules apply. |
| Utility cut, trench or construction zone | The utility, contractor or permit holder that did the work, and possibly the public owner | Who opened or last worked on the pavement, and was the area properly patched, plated or marked? |
| Private parking lot or driveway | The property owner or the business in control | Did the owner know, or should it have known, about the defect? |
More than one party can share responsibility. A contractor that left a poorly patched trench and a city that had notice of it, for example, may both be part of the same claim.
The New York City written-notice rule
New York City has a specific rule for defects in public ways. Under Administrative Code 7-201(c)(2), no civil action can be maintained against the city for injury caused by a street, highway, bridge, sidewalk or crosswalk being out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed unless written notice of that condition was actually given to the Commissioner of Transportation (or someone the commissioner authorized), with limited alternatives listed in the law, and the city then failed to repair it within 15 days.
In practice, that makes the city's records central. A claim against the city usually involves requesting the city's maintenance and complaint records for that location to see whether written notice existed before the accident. Reporting a defect yourself, for example through 311, creates a record for the future, but whether a particular report counts as legal written notice for an earlier accident is a separate question.
Courts recognize two narrow exceptions. As the Appellate Division explained in Sales v City of New York (2025), quoting the Court of Appeals, a municipality with a prior written notice law can be liable without notice if it affirmatively created the defect through an act of negligence, or if a special use of the property resulted in a special benefit to the locality. The affirmative-negligence exception is limited to work by the municipality that immediately results in a dangerous condition.
The written-notice rule applies to defects within the scope of the law. Other kinds of city negligence, such as a crash with a city vehicle, are not decided under it. Other municipalities in New York have their own notice laws for streets and sidewalks, so the rule for a town road in Nassau County may not match the city's.
State highways have a seasonal rule. Under Highway Law 58, the State is not liable for damages from defects in state highways except between May 1 and November 15 on highways the State maintains under the maintenance system adopted by the Commissioner of Transportation; otherwise its liability remains as provided by law. Claims against the State are brought in the Court of Claims under Court of Claims Act 10. How the statute applies to a particular claim depends on the road, the date and the kind of claim, so it is worth getting advice early.
Sidewalks follow a different rule in New York City
Administrative Code 7-210 makes the owner of property next to a sidewalk liable for injuries caused by failing to keep that sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition. The city, in turn, is not liable for that failure, except for sidewalks next to one-, two- or three-family homes that are at least partly owner-occupied and used only as residences.
That is why a trip on a heaved slab in front of a store or an apartment building is usually a claim against the building owner, not the city. Snow and ice on sidewalks raise their own timing rules, covered in our guide to winter storm slip and fall rules.
Step 1
Document the defect before it is repaired
- Get medical or emergency help first. Take photos only when it is safe to do so, from the sidewalk or shoulder, and never by stepping into traffic.
- Photograph the defect from several angles, with something for scale such as a shoe or a ruler, and capture the surrounding street, signs and lighting.
- Record the exact location: the nearest address, the side of the street, and the distance from the corner or a fixed landmark.
- Keep any vehicle damage photos, repair estimates and tow records if you were driving or riding.
- Write down names of witnesses and any business whose camera may face the spot.
Step 2
Get medical care and keep the paper trail
See a doctor promptly and tell them how the injury happened. Keep medical records, bills and proof of missed work. If you were in a vehicle, New York no-fault benefits and the rules in our guide to no-fault versus bodily injury claims may also apply.
Step 3
Watch the notice deadline
Public-entity deadlines depend on who you are suing. A city, county, town, village or school district generally requires a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-e. A claim against New York State goes to the Court of Claims under Court of Claims Act 10, and some public authorities, such as transit or housing authorities, have their own statutes. Our guide on how to sue a city or public agency in New York explains each. Claims against a private owner or contractor generally follow the three-year period for personal injury actions in CPLR 214.
If more than one party may be responsible, the shortest deadline controls how fast you need to act.
Frequently asked questions
Possibly. For a defect in a city street, the city generally is not liable unless it had prior written notice of the defect and failed to repair it within 15 days, as required by Administrative Code 7-201(c)(2). Courts recognize narrow exceptions, such as where the city affirmatively created the defect through its own negligent work. A notice of claim must also be filed within the public-entity deadline.
Usually the owner of the property next to the sidewalk, under Administrative Code 7-210. The main exception is a sidewalk next to a one-, two- or three-family home that is at least partly owner-occupied and used only as a residence.
Reporting creates a record and helps get the defect fixed. Whether an earlier complaint by someone else counts as legal written notice for your accident depends on the records and the law, so those records are usually requested early in a claim.
In most New York injury cases, your own share of fault reduces the damages rather than ending the claim under CPLR 1411. For a personal injury action subject to Insurance Law Article 51, which generally covers motor-vehicle cases, commenced on or after May 26, 2026, CPLR 1411(b) bars recovery if your fault is greater than that of the defendants combined. Other defenses can also apply. Our guide to comparative negligence in New York explains how fault is divided.
A city, county, town, village or school district generally requires a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-e. Claims against New York State go to the Court of Claims under Court of Claims Act 10, and some public authorities have their own statutes. Claims against private parties generally have three years. Because the defect may also be repaired quickly, it is best to get advice and gather evidence right away.
Related guides
Sources
- NYC Administrative Code 7-201 (actions against the city; prior written notice)
- Sales v City of New York, 2025 NY Slip Op 04926 (2d Dept 2025)
- N.Y. Highway Law 58 (liability of the State for state highway defects)
- N.Y. Court of Claims Act 10 (claims against the State)
- NYC Administrative Code 7-210 (sidewalk maintenance liability)
- N.Y. General Municipal Law 50-e (notice of claim)
- N.Y. CPLR 214 (three-year period for personal injury)
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