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

The same section that sets Mount Vernon's general sidewalk maintenance duty also sets its snow-and-ice clock: § 227-56 gives every owner or lessee of premises abutting a street 12 hours after a snowfall has ceased, or after ice has formed, to clear the entire sidewalk area in front of the premises. Until the ice is fully gone, the owner or lessee has to spread enough sifted ashes, sand or salt on it to keep people from slipping, an ongoing duty that runs alongside, not instead of, the 12-hour clearing deadline.

The duty attaches to whoever occupies the property, owner or lessee, regardless of who actually caused the sidewalk to need clearing, and it applies to every abutting sidewalk citywide rather than being limited to business districts or arterial streets. Because Chapter 227 doesn't spell out a stand-alone snow-removal fine, enforcement runs through the Code's default penalty provision. The Department of Public Works, through the Commissioner, is the office charged with administering Chapter 227's street and sidewalk provisions generally, making it the practical point of contact for a snow-clearing complaint even though § 227-56 itself doesn't name an enforcing officer for this particular duty.