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

Section 235-6 combines a year-round sidewalk duty with a winter-specific one. During the summer, an owner or occupant must keep sidewalks, gutters and drains free from dirt, filth, weeds, rubbish, encumbrances and obstructions of every kind. In winter, the same property must be kept free of snow and ice, and where ice cannot be fully removed, it has to be covered with ashes, sand or similar material so pedestrians can walk on it safely. The clock starts when the snow, ice, dirt, filth, weeds, rubbish or other encumbrance actually falls or accumulates: the code gives 12 hours from that point, not 12 hours from a storm's end or a set daily time.

If the deadline passes without action, § 235-6 authorizes the Director of Public Works to have the material removed and to charge the cost to the owner or occupant, and that expense can be assessed against the adjoining property, effectively becoming a lien collected the way City property taxes are. Section 235-11's general abatement process reinforces the sidewalk duty by specifically exempting sidewalk cleaning from the usual written-notice requirement, meaning the City does not have to warn a property owner before acting on an uncleared sidewalk.

Beyond the City's cost-recovery remedy, a property owner who ignores the duty also risks the criminal penalties Article I sets at § 235-13 for Part 1 violations generally.