Glen Cove, NY Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 239-3 of the Streets and Public Places article prohibits erecting or maintaining a stoop, piazza, steps, fence, shed, building, railing, balcony, bay window or other obstruction within the line of any street or sidewalk in the City of Glen Cove. The ban covers structures built before the rule as well as anything built after: Subsection B gives the Director of Public Works authority to notify the owner or occupant of the adjoining property that an obstruction must be removed within 10 days. If the owner does not comply, the Director removes it directly and assesses the removal cost against the adjoining property, the same enforcement mechanism the code uses for uncleared gutters and drains under § 239-14 and untrimmed street trees under § 239-13.

Because § 239-3 sits in Article I of Chapter 239, the general penalty in § 239-18 also applies: violating any provision of that article, including maintaining a prohibited encroachment after the 10-day notice period, is punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $2,000, imprisonment of up to 15 days, or both. The rule reaches anything projecting into the mapped street or sidewalk line, not just fences, so property owners building a porch, stoop or bay window addition close to their frontage need to check the City's street line before construction rather than after the Director issues a notice.