Have an ice day!
Although the city has doled out nearly 5,000 fines to homeowners and businesses over icy sidewalks since Sunday’s snowfall, they’ve been slow to clear several of their bus stops, parks and subway stations still covered in ice.
During a snow event, New York City is responsible for ensuring bus stop shelters, parks and schools are shoveled, according to the city website – but that hasn’t stopped dozens of 311 reports of still-slippery paths.
Several of the Big Apple’s own jurisdictions were left covered in slippery sheets as of Wednesday, according to 311 data, with more than 150 complaints logged for snowy/icy conditions having in the days after the weekend flurries.
“The businesses do a good job cleaning in front of their stores, but what about the sidewalks?” Bedford-Stuyvesant resident Maria N., 40, said about a patch of ice in front of a slew of bus stops and delis on Malcolm X Boulevard.
“This neighborhood is full of elderly people, so this is just an incident waiting to happen.”
A snow-covered pathway remained untouched at Fort Washington Park in Washington Heights Wednesday, despite the city claiming on the 311 portal that it “corrected the problem.”
“I’m just waiting. If I slip and fall, my next step is a lawsuit,” chimed local Mark, 35.
Similarly, busy B17 bus stop on Utica Avenue in Crown Heights was “surrounded by ice on all sides,” one X user wrote Tuesday, with similar instances reported at bus stops in Bushwick, Woodhaven and the Longwood, Melrose and Kingsbridge Heights sections of The Bronx.
A city Department of Transportation spokesperson said the bus shelter contractor it dispatches has four hours after the snow stops to clear snowfall from bus shelters.
“We will make sure they are aware of the [icy] locations,” they said.
Meanwhile, property owners and businesses are only responsible for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks in front of their residence or storefront — and they got hammered.
Brooklyn topped the list with the most summonses for failure to shovel sidewalks at 2,034 violations issued this week, according to the city’s sanitation department. Queens ran a distant second with 1,290, followed by The Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island with 939, 501 and 212 summonses issued, respectively.
The whopping total of 4,976 fines – costing violators up to $150 for a first offense – isn’t unheard of in the days following a snow event, the DSNY spokesperson said, with more than 5,000 summonses issued in the first two days after a snowfall last January.
“It’s easy to focus on the property owner getting the summons — but remember, there are 8.5 million people in the City who want to be able to walk to work or school safely,” a DSNY rep told The Post.
“Every single one of us deserves to be able to do so, and clearing snow and ice from sidewalks is one of the responsibilities of anyone who owns property in New York City.”
But across the Big Apple it was people complaining about the conditions of city-owned property.
“It’s not right. You can really hurt yourself if you slip and fall on this,” fumed Inwood local Alyssa Rodriguez — where a stretch of public sidewalks around 207th Street was left covered with “solid ice,” according to one X user.
“I debated even taking this bike this morning because of the ice,” 27-year-old Inwood resident Roman L. said as he returned a CitiBike nearby. “It’s messed up because that wouldn’t be the case in Midtown.
“This is the neighborhood that they forget, for real.”
The 207th Street CitiBike docking station was surrounded by slick ice Wednesday night, as was another station on Dyckman Street in Washington Heights – but when asked about the city mandate that parent company Lyft clear any snow or ice from stations, a Lyft rep erroneously shot back, “streets and sidewalks are the responsibility of the City, not CitiBike.”
At Central Park’s Literary Walk, vendor Leo, 34, was shoveling away ice from his vending post days after it snowed on Wednesday.
A rep for the Central Park Conservancy, which maintains the park, noted that, “given this week’s cold temperatures, lingering snow and precipitation have contributed to icy conditions in some areas. Conservancy staff continue working to address them, and Park visitors are encouraged to exercise caution when navigating icy paths.”
“It’s the park’s job [to shovel],” the vendor said, noting the ice became more dangerous Wednesday as rising temperatures and melting portions created a slippery mess on the tourist path. “After the weekend, I couldn’t work … it’s finally melting, but now it’s even more dangerous. I had to do something.”
The Long Island City boardwalk, managed by the Long Island City Partnership, is currently an “ice rink with no guardrail and a steep drop into rocks and broken glass,” one X user wrote.
And at the southwest corner of Prospect Park West, local teen Katherine slipped on a thick patch of ice while crossing into the park before lamenting to The Post: “It’s way more slippery this year. [Parks,] do your job!”
“They really should shovel more,” Queens resident Tyler said of Prospect Park’s icy paths, “because we almost fell, like, ten times.”
A request for comment from the Prospect Park Conservancy was referred to the Parks department, which did not immediately respond by deadline.
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