Clay, NY Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Town of Clay Code § 197-5, in Chapter 197's Article II, Sidewalks, places the duty to maintain and repair sidewalks, including keeping them free of snow, ice and other obstruction, on the owner or occupant of the abutting lands, not on the Highway Department. The same section makes that owner or occupant liable for any injury or damage caused by an omission, failure or negligence to maintain the sidewalk or keep it clear of snow and ice, so an uncleared walk that leads to a slip-and-fall can expose the abutting property owner to a civil claim on top of any code violation.

Chapter 197 also regulates the plowing itself: § 197-3 bars anyone from plowing, shoveling, sweeping or piling snow so as to obstruct a public street, sidewalk or private driveway, or from depositing snow cleared from a driveway into the public roadway, right-of-way or sidewalk, or onto a neighbor's property without consent. Enforcement runs through § 197-4, which applies the general penalty in § 1-18 of the Town Code to any violation of Chapter 197, including the Article II sidewalk duty, and treats each day a violation continues as a separate offense.

The Town does not publish a fixed number of hours after a snowfall in which the sidewalk must be cleared; the duty in § 197-5 is a standing obligation to keep the walk free of obstruction, not a one-time deadline tied to a storm.