By Kathianne Boniello
A Bayside civic leader has voiced his opposition to the city's policy of fining homeowners for faulty or cracked sidewalks that residents had installed.
Mandingo Tshaka, president of the Bayside Clear-Spring Council, told Community Board 11 at its March 6 meeting, that residents in southern Bayside, between Northern Boulevard and 48th Avenue, had been fined for violations in sidewalks they had installed themselves.
“How can they penalize the homeowners when the city never did a thing back here?” Tshaka said. He said for many years the area was without city sidewalks.
Mark Patterson, a spokesman for the city Department of Transportation, said even if homeowners put in their own sidewalks they were “absolutely” responsible.
“What they should have done was confer with the city and gotten a permit,” he said. “They are still responsible if the sidewalks are not in conformity with city guidelines.”
Tshaka said “that's unacceptable. We shouldn't have to pay. The city should just forget it.”
Patterson said the DOT inspects sidewalks in response to citizens' complaints.
Once the agency conducts its inspections, he said, the DOT issues a notice of violation that gives a homeowner 45 days to repair any violations. Patterson said a notice of violation is delivered to the property owner by hand.
If property owners fail to fix the violations within the allotted time period, he said, they are fined by the DOT. Patterson said he did not know how much a homeowner would be fined.
Tshaka said none of the residents had been notified of their violations. He did not name a specific address, but said “the whole area” around 45th Drive in southern Bayside was affected.
The civic leader has also expressed frustration with sidewalk work completed in the area just a couple of months ago by the city.
Although the city Department of Design and Construction recently finished a major sewer and water main reconstruction project in the area, Tshaka said the new sidewalks were already cracking.
“That's called the sacking of New York City,” he said. “Every block they're cracking.”
Patterson said the city was responsible for the sidewalk work for the first 18 months after the end of the construction project and would pay for any repairs during that time. But he also said the DOT might not be aware of the problem unless homeowners or residents notified them.
Tshaka said “the homeowners pay for it through taxes.”
